Hitachi Energy's advanced grid connection for world's largest eucalyptus pulp mill in Brazil

KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 -- Hitachi Energy, the global technology and market leader in power grids, announced it has won an order from Suzano, the world’s leading eucalyptus pulp producer, to design and deliver a complete grid connection solution for the company’s new pulp mill in Brazil.

One of Latin America’s largest paper producers, Suzano’s new factory will be the world’s largest single-line eucalyptus pulp mill and Brazil’s first pulp production facility to be fossil fuel free when completed in the second half of 2024.

It will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes and will increase Suzano’s output by 20 per cent. About half of the electricity generated will be transferred to the national power grid, enough to supply around 2.3 million people for one month.

According to a statement, the two companies have worked closely together on grid solutions for Suzano’s fleet of mills over the past 20 years.

In this spirit of collaboration and co-creation, Hitachi Energy has contributed its pioneering technologies and unique system integration capabilities, engineering expertise and extensive experience of local grid code requirements.

“We are honoured and delighted to be working with Suzano again on this landmark project that sets a new benchmark in sustainable pulp production and shares its emission-free electricity with society at large,” said Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business, Niklas Persson.

Meanwhile, Engineering Director at Suzano, Mauricio Miranda said: “We chose Hitachi Energy as our technology partner based on more than 20 years of successful collaboration and consistent delivery of innovative, reliable solutions and exceptional project execution.”

Hitachi Energy will supply a state-of-the-art grid connection solution to enable the surplus renewable power to be transferred reliably, safely and securely into the national power grid.

The solution’s compact footprint is based on advanced gas-insulated switchgear and offers excellent performance in terms of efficiency and availability, while minimising the total lifecycle cost and CO2 footprint.

To secure reliability and availability, key elements of the grid connection, such as the transformers will be equipped with Hitachi Energy’s digital monitoring systems to provide real-time data and performance insights and enable predictive maintenance.

-- BERNAMA