Improvement of Energy Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energy Sources project
By finishing the project Improvement of Energy Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Ericsson Nikola Tesla d.d., one of the largest energy efficiency projects in Croatia that was co-financed by European Union funds was completed. As a result, since the beginning of 2021, we have been working with significantly improved technological capacities. With this project, we have once again confirmed our strategic direction of reducing carbon footprint in line with the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as well as responsibility towards the environment and the community in which we operate.
Two and a half years after the signing of an agreement in June 2018 on granting funds from the European Structural and Investment Funds in the framework of the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020, a new period of sustainable business started, characterized by saving more than 4.6 million kWh of energy annually and a reduction in CO2 emissions by almost 1400 tonnes.
Despite the pandemic and a massive earthquake in March 2020, when the project implementation was at a critical stage, after 18 months of intense construction and electrical works, our campus in Zagreb looks and operates precisely in the way it was planned back in 2017. Total investment amounted to HRK 63.5 million, out of which EU grants amounted to HRK 17.5 million, while the rest of the funds for the energy efficiency project were secured by Ericsson Nikola Tesla’s own resources.
The project was implemented through a successful cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund and the Central Finance and Contracting Agency.
A team of 600 participants worked round the clock on the energy consolidation of the production site, the construction of the main heat exchange station and the corresponding substation and the main cooling station and outdoor connecting pipelines, the renewal of building envelopes of the two largest buildings, setting up the new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and the installation of a significantly more efficient lighting system. Despite all the unexpected challenges, they managed to finish this large and, in terms of coordination, very complex project within the agreed deadlines. During all the implementation stages, we have worked at full capacity and continued to provide support to our customers in circumstances no one could have imagined at the time when the energy efficiency project had started. In conditions that were significantly more difficult than in the previous years, we managed to use the EU grants and, with our own large-scale investment, achieve a goal that was one of the prerequisites of the company’s long term business sustainability.
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2021 Photos