WE NEED TO HURRY!
THIS WAS THE WARNING RELEASED IN 2018 BY THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC). EARTH’S AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SHOULD NOT RISE ABOVE 1.5 DEGREES CENTIGRADE. IF THE LIMIT IS EXCEEDED, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE CATASTROPHIC. FORTUNATELY, AT TERVAKOSKI FILM IT IS KNOWN THAT PLASTIC – THAT OFTEN HATED RAW MATERIAL – CAN ACTUALLY HELP TO CURB THE CHANGE
If you have been following the public debate in recent years, you could not avoid the greatest crisis of our time – climate change, which requires rapid emission reductions. Research shows that CO2 emissions should be reduced by as much as 80 per cent by 2050. As a result of this requirement, societies around the globe have started a journey towards a more sustainable world. This means that our everyday lives and well-being can no longer be based on over-consumption and fossil fuels.
To achieve these ambitious targets, new eco-friendly solutions are constantly being sought for transportation, land use, electricity distribution, construction, consumption and waste management. With this development, the market has been filled with innovations, each more ingenious than the last, such as hybrid and biogas cars, pure waste products and vegan meat substitutes, to mention a few. Another noteworthy innovation is a technology developed by the Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT, that can create a synthetic protein from the air, or a fuel cell that was invented already in the 1800s, which today represents the most modern way of producing electricity efficiently and with low emissions.
Energy production plays a significant role in factors affecting climate change. The use of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, releases CO2 into the atmosphere, which accelerates global warming. The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, such as wind power and solar, however, curbs the progress of climate change. As such, expanding a new infrastructure to cater for this change is one of the major focus areas around the world, and also at Tervakoski Film.
“From a social point of view, renewable energy sources are almost the only sensible solution if we are to save this planet. At Tervakoski Film, we have been, for decades already, involved in developing economically efficient long-endurance BOPP capacitor films needed in applications for electricity transfer and generation, that will help us to deploy renewable energy,” says Tervakoski Film’s CEO Ilkka Penttilä.
RENEWABLE ENERGY REQUIRES RELIABILITY
The need to increase the use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency will cause severe pressure for change in electricity networks. “The use of renewable energy means that energy needs to be transported over long distances from one place to another, as the largest sources of renewable energy are often far from the urban and industrial centres where the electricity is needed. Long-distance electricity transfers are made by HVDC power transmission, and Tervakoski Film is – and has been already for 30 years – the most experienced capacitor film supplier for these applications,” Penttilä explains.
Quality, quality and once again quality
Because everything works with electricity, its distribution must be uninterrupted. “To illustrate this, you can imagine what it costs, for example, when the city of New York goes dark. Because the risks are high, it’s not worth making compromises. I often say that the safest solution in our field of operation is to always remember quality, quality and once again quality. At Tervakoski Film, quality means efficient and durable materials for the production of capacitor films. Our films last over 30 years in operation and thus contribute to long-term undisturbed power transmission,” Penttilä points out.
A smart grid is now being developed to avoid the risk of power surges and blackouts. It is an intelligent power grid that combines existing power technologies with advanced computer programs, intelligent devices and automation. “The development is resulting in an even more reliable, flexible and efficient electric power system with less environmental impact. We at Tervakoski Film are also continuously developing our capacitor films for the needs of smart grids, other power transmission networks and a more sustainable society. As a result of our development work, the use of the film in kilograms per transferable energy has decreased considerably. Nowadays, the high reliability film bears more stress, so less material is needed.”
EXTREMELY PURE PLASTIC IS SUITABLE FOR REUSE
News headlines of plastic Islands and animals choking to death on trash have made plastic one of the main causes of environmental damage on the planet. However, it is unfair to judge the material itself, simply because it is not being used properly. Tervakoski Film focuses on controlling the quality of the plastic material so that it is used in an eco-friendly way and releases the full potential it has to offer sustainably.
“We use only an extremely pure polypropylene granule in our production, which does not contain any environmentally harmful components,” Penttilä says.
In Tervakoski production, all the extra material is recycled
“In addition, all surplus material of our production, such as edgings of transparent or metallised film, is converted back to granule and goes into the circular economy. The recycled material is used in producing new products such as packaging film, rope, or even injection moulded components.”
Tervakoski’s strength in designing eco-friendly products comes from long experience, and the know-how collected over the years is continuously being developed and utilised to meet the needs of the more sustainable world.
“We know the impact of our work. It is the high-tech plastic film roll leaving our factory that enables the reliable operation of capacitors and power distribution, and thus the use of renewable energy with zero emissions, especially for heavy industry. So, when you think about it this way, it is not wrong to say that, when used properly, polypropylene plastic is the world’s most eco-friendly raw material.”