Successful energy supply contracting: ENGIE operates energy center for Milupa in Fulda

20 tons of steam, 42,000 liters of fresh water and 50 standard cubic meters of nitrogen per hour, 2,000 kilowatts of available heat and 5,500 kilowatts  of cooling capacity – these are the maximum available capacities available for the new Milupa production facility. The Danone subsidiary produces about 35,000 tons of dry powder for infant nutrition and medical food annually at the production facility that opened in 2016. In the middle of it all: the energy center, which ENGIE operates as a service partner under a long-term energy supply contract. It supplies  the new area of the plant with the necessary energy and the necessary media for production operations 24 hours a day.

Building technology and energy services for the highest demands from a single source

Review: In 2013, Danone decided to build a new additional production facility at the Milupa site in Fulda. For the construction, the company commissioned a working group formed by ENGIE and Ed. Züblin AG. Within the working group, ENGIE is responsible for all mechanical and electrical systems as well as for building automation. For the energy supply contracting, which has also been commissioned, ENGIE is also investing in the construction of the energy center on the plant premises. As the production of infant food and medical food places very high demands on the construction, production, technical infrastructure and energy supply, ENGIE relies on particularly high-quality and sustainable building technology, which meets the highest quality and safety standards.

With the opening of the production site and the commissioning of the energy center in spring 2016, ENGIE as an energy service provider will take over the provision of all useful energies for the newly built production plant.

Comprehensive service for the Milupa plant as part of the energy supply contract

Today, a five-member service team from ENGIE at the production site ensures the smooth operation of the energy center and the control of the associated generation systems. Here, the team provides uninterrupted media supply for production

• electricity, gas, heat and steam,
• hot, ice, cold, process and extinguishing water as well as
• compressed air and nitrogen safe

A further important component of energy supply contracts is the pretreatment of the production wastewater in a specially constructed wastewater plant, which is designed for a comparable capacity for 33,000 inhabitants and purifies and processes on average about 800 cubic meters of water per day. 

The focus of the service technicians' work is on the constant monitoring of the generation plants, the elimination of faults and the implementation of inspections, maintenance and repairs, including the associated documentation.

High level of service in daily work as an energy service provider

The energy supply contracting agreement obliges ENGIE, as contracting partner, to ensure the supply and operation of the new production site at all times, taking into account all official requirements and the conformity with the customer. Due to Danone's high quality standards, the controls and testing obligations go well beyond the regulatory requirements. Other important aspects relate to the continuous training of ENGIE employees in order to be able to work in the sensitive food sector, as well as regular customer audits and site visits, which enable close joint coordination in addition to the daily exchange.

Additional specialist personnel for plant and building technology in deployment

In addition to the team from the energy center, two facility technicians from ENGIE's Facility Services division look after the technical systems in the production building. These include ventilation and fire alarm systems, as well as sprinkler and building management systems. In addition to monitoring, repair and fault management, they are also responsible for the modernization and optimization of the technical systems and round off the comprehensive service package.