Narva city council yesterday unanimously approved the initiation of detailed planning and environmental impact assessment, which will start preparatory work for the construction of the Ragn-Sells oil shale ash valorising plant in the immediate proximity of the Balti Elektrijaam territory.
Narva's mayor Katri Raik said that the residents of Narva clearly signaled today that they want to be part of the largest circular economy project in the Nordic countries. "Narva has great potential to increase the competitiveness of the Estonian economy with this project and to be a leader in climate neutrality, the green turn and the circular economy," added Raik.
According to Ragn-Sells project manager Alar Saluste today's decision of the council is an important interim finish and a recognition of years of preliminary work, so that a factory will be built next to Narva, which, as the first project of the green turn, will be able to produce climate-neutral calcium carbonate from oil shale ash, and in the future extract magnesium and other raw materials from the same ash residue. "In the shale ash, which has been standing as waste for decades in the mountains of Ida-Virumaa, there is a great opportunity hidden for Narva, Estonia and the whole world. From a local perspective, our factory creates many new jobs and strengthens the investment climate in Narva. On a global scale, the increasingly acute raw material and environmental crisis will be solved at the Narva factory," added Saluste.
Ragn-Sells wants to start the demo plant for valorisation of oil shale ash next to the city of Narva, on the industrial territory of Balti Elektrijaam, owned by Eesti Energia, in 2025 and the main plant in 2028. The location of the factory was determined by the immediate proximity of the ash mountains, the existing industrial infrastructure and minimal impact on the local living environment. The establishment of the factory will bring an estimated investment of 250 million euros to the region. In total, around 100 direct and 400 indirect jobs will be created.
"We will do everything possible so that after today's decision, our cooperation with the city officials and residents of Narva will run smoothly, so that the goals of the project will be fulfilled by the deadlines set today," Saluste added.
The plant can reprocess more than one million tons of oil shale ash and bind 250,000 tons of CO2 annually, resulting in the production of approx. 500,000 tons of ultra-pure calcium carbonate. With the help of a unique patented solution, waste is turned into a new raw material that can be used to produce paints, window frames, floor coverings, paper and many other items needed in everyday life. To date, large global companies have already shown great interest in the product. Among them, Gealan (Germany), one of the largest manufacturers of plastic window frames in Europe, and Tarkett (France), one of the five largest manufacturers of floor materials in the world, who want to use raw materials with the smallest possible CO2 footprint in their production. Under the conditions of meeting the strict climate goals set in the European Union and Estonia, the preference for such materials is a growing trend.
According to member of the board of Eesti Energia Margus Vals they are happy that the cooperation project with Ragn-Sells has reached the next major milestone. "Eesti Energia is developing the existing production of electricity and liquid fuels into a carbon-neutral and waste-free chemical industry based on a circular economy, where every product and by-product of the production process is an input for the next product, and products that have reached the end of their life cycle become an input for our process. Thus, we are constantly looking for new opportunities to value the ash to a greater extent than before and to make maximum use of it," added Vals.
The production of calcium carbonate is currently significantly damaging to the environment, for example, nearly 1 ton of CO2 is emitted for every ton of new product dug out of the ground, which is comparable to the cement industry. However, the PCC produced by Ragn-Sells has a negative CO2 balance, i.e. more CO2 is bound than emitted during its production. Ragn-Sells can sequester 250,000 - 300,000 CO2 annually during the valorization of oil shale ash, which is 10% of the carbon sequestration obligation imposed on the Estonian state within the framework of FIT55.
The technology born from the cooperation of Ragn-Sells, the University of Tartu, Taltech and several international research institutions enables the production of ultra-clean climate-positive calcium carbonate from the ash of electricity production and CO2 emissions. During production, no air emissions are produced, because the combustion process is not used, the water used in production is also in continuous circulation, and all by-products are also directed into circulation. Noise and odor disturbances are prevented by a closed production process and the use of modern technology. Ragn-Sells has created a subsidiary company R-S OSA Projekt OÜ for the shale ash beneficiation project. Almost 2 million euros have already been invested in the project. The partners of the project are the University of Tartu, TalTech, Eesti Energia, EAS, the Archimedes foundation and the international companies Tarkett and Gealan.
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