Saint-Gobain (Courbevoie, France) has announced an investment of approximately €25 million in its plasterboard plant in Fredrikstad, Norway, to increase its production capacity by about 40% and transform it to make it the world’s first carbon-neutral plasterboard plant. This investment is supported by the Norwegian Government Agency Enova.
The new facility will be operational in early 2023.The investment, which aims at keeping pace with rising demand in a very dynamic local market, notably consists of an innovative project to electrify the production process, which currently uses natural gas. Electrification is particularly relevant in Norway, where 96% of the electricity produced is hydropower. This project will eliminate more than twenty thousand tons of CO2 emissions per year and reduce the site’s energy consumption.
This investment is a tangible demonstration of Saint-Gobain’s commitment to reduce its scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017, with the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. It also allows Saint-Gobain to strengthen its leadership position in the Norwegian lightweight construction market and to respond to a strong demand for more sustainable solutions. This zero-carbon plant concept could also be extended to other Saint-Gobain sites.