New power plant in Frenkendorf

The power plant is the heart of any production plant. Everything grinds to a halt without a power supply. The new power plant in Frenkendorf helps to considerably reduce the site’s gas, water and electricity consumption.

After 50 years in operation, the plant’s two boilers and six ammonia compressors have reached their limits. Stefan Madörin, Head of Technical Services, states: “The risk of breakdowns increased with age and it became harder to source spare parts. Nowadays we’ve also come a lot further ecologically. The old plant used too much energy and water. The new power plant was the single biggest project since Mifa AG moved to the Frenkendorf site.”

The new power plant is based on a modular design and uses much less energy thanks to cutting-edge technology and integrated heat recovery. It can target refrigeration as required and much more accurately, for example. Heat is buffered, heat loss from the power plant and manufacturing processes is recovered and fed into the company’s own heating network by heat pumps. At the same time, all the manufacturing processes have been modified, so that they operate at lower temperatures and thus use less heat energy. All in all, the ecological benefits are considerable:

40% reduction in gas consumption
10% reduction in electricity consumption
80 % reduction in water consumption.

The new power plant is an integral part in order to meet with the sustainability strategy of the M-Industry and Migros’ climate and energy strategy.

The new plant is much more sparing with resources, which is good for the environment and simultaneously significantly cuts operating costs. Around CHF 11 million has been invested into the new plant. Despite these high costs this investment will pay for itself in a short time, thanks to the high efficiency gains.

Sustainability facts about the new power plant in Frenkendorf

Investment into the new power plant was approx. CHF 11 million.
The main advantages are a more secure supply, reserves for growth and big increases in efficiency, which benefit the environment in particular.
The new plant reduces gas consumption by 40%, electricity consumption by 10% and water consumption by 80%.

In the background, the expansion system and distributor pumps for the 110°C hot-water system. In the foreground, the heat exchangers for waste heat recovery.

Thanks to the two hybrid ammonia condensers on the roof, water is only needed for cooling in summer. In cool weather conditions, they operate dry.

The new hot-water boilers Melchior Jr. and Kaspar Jr., each with an output of 2000 kW. The one on the left is only heated with gas and has two economisers for heat recovery; the one on the right can be operated with gas and oil and has one economiser.

Cold production with the ammonia compressors. On the right, the three compressors for a temperature of -29°C and, on the left, the two for ice-water production at 2°C. In the foreground on the left, the heat pump for heat recovery.