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Follow our journey towards 100% recycling and circular economy

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23 September 2020

Today, the project culminated in the first customer being connected and the announcement by Aalborg Forsyning that the expansion of the network is part of a groundbreaking pilot project which will see recycled plastic being used extensively in a district heating network for the first time ever worldwide.

The project has involved close collaboration with the pipe manufacturer LOGSTOR, and will result in the laying of almost 30 km of piping over the next two to three years, where the outer plastic casing on the district heating pipes will be made of 100% recycled plastic. In total, approx. 100 tonnes of recycled plastic will be needed for the project, and according to Lasse P. N. Olsen, Chairman of the Board of Aalborg Forsyning’s Energy Division, the project holds considerable potential:

"Managing plastic waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges currently facing the world, and therefore we’re delighted to be able to realise this innovative project, which is fully in line with our ambition of delivering green district heating in future, and not least of strengthening the circular economy in north Jutland and Denmark"
- Lasse P. N. Olsen

"It is Aalborg Forsyning’s ambition that pipe systems made with recycled plastic should be used in all future district heating projects once we have tested it on a large scale in the StorvordeSejlflod area. In other words, it’s a project with huge potential. The new pipes are a major step towards a circular economy and will, among other things, result in an environmental saving of at least 160 tonnes of C02 from using 100 tonnes of recycled plastic rather than newly produced plastic", Said Lasse P. N. Olsen.

LOGSTOR, a leading global supplier and manufacturer of piping systems for the energy industry, is behind the introduction energy industry, is behind the introduction of recycled plastic in the district heating pipes.

"Specifically, we’re now able to produce the outer layer – or casing – of the district heating pipes from suitable recycled plastic. LOGSTOR has developed the process over a number of years, and we’ve been able to demonstrate through various in-house and external tests that the material and the manufactured products fully comply with the same durability requirements stipulated in the European standards as conventional pipes" said LOGSTOR CEO Kim Christensen, and continues: "Society needs to be much better at recycling materials. We need to see by-products as resources and think much more about incorporating recycling into new projects from the outset. This particular project is a very good example of this, and for us it is an important step towards our goal of eventually being able to produce district heating pipes from 100% reusable materials".

LOGSTOR is already working on solutions to replace the other parts of the pipes with reusable materials, but it may be a few years before a 100% recyclable district heating pipe becomes available as the industry standards need aligning, said Kim Christensen.

Read the original release here

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