DS Smith has invested €7.5m in expanding the anaerobic treatment facility at its Rouen paper mill in northern France.
The investment enables the site to generate green energy from 100% of its wastewater and improve the quality of discharged water – building the circular economy and taking another step towards the company’s carbon goals. The process uses micro-organisms, working in the absence of oxygen, and creates biogas that’s converted into sustainable energy by the mill’s partner IDEX. This is then used to provide green electricity to homes and businesses throughout the Normandy region.
The expansion is expected to boost the total biogas production of the mill from 26,000 MWh to 39,000 MWh annually – delivering potential savings of up to 2,600 tonnes of CO2 per year – equivalent to taking over 600 small cars off the road every year.
Bruno Šteh, Cluster Energy Coordinator, DS Smith, said, “We are proud to have increased our green energy credentials with the expansion of our wastewater treatment facilities at Rouen Paper Mill. We are not only treating the wastewater onsite, but extracting a naturally produced resource which is converted into green electricity. This investment was a key driver in our overall strategy to reduce the impact of our operations here in France and contribute to providing green power to the region.”
