This was announced by the company’s president, Ignacio Colmenares, during the visit that the president of the Principality of Asturias, Adrian Barbón, has made today to the biofactory in Navia, the largest capacity of Ence in Spain.

Specifically, the company will allocate 30 million euros to promote fluff pulp from this facility in order to diversify production towards hygienic and absorbent components that until now have been imported from North America. With this initiative, which is expected to be implemented in September 2025, a smaller environmental footprint will be achieved, contributing to the sustainability of the entire production chain, as the fibres are natural, compostable and biodegradable.

In addition, through a total investment line of close to 50 million euros, the company will replace a line in the wood yard to improve the biofactory’s energy efficiency. This project will benefit from the energy efficiency line of the IDAE (Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving) for an amount of 13 million euros.

Generation of value from the Navia biofactory

The Navia biofactory generates a positive impact on the Spanish economy at all levels through the development of its activity. This is the conclusion of a recent study by the specialist consultancy Valora, which confirms the leading role of the Ence Group’s Asturian biofactory in the social and economic development of the Principality and, by extension, in the national economy.

Regarding the latter, the study determines that its activity translates into an economic impact on the national GDP of 840 million euros and the generation of 7,000 jobs between direct, indirect and induced.

The biofactory boosts activity indirectly in the industrial, forestry and logistics sectors, and indirectly in other sectors such as transport, commerce, hotels and catering, professional services and public services, acting as a catalyst in predominantly rural areas.

With regard to the Principality of Asturias and its industrial sector, the activity of the Navia biofactory generates an impact of 103 million euros in the Asturian manufacturing industry, that is, nearly 3% of the sector’s GDP.

It also mobilises, annually, more than 250 million euros in payments to suppliers to make all the purchases and investments necessary to maintain its activity. This means an important economic impact in different areas: 67 million euros in industrial purchases, 156 million euros in forestry purchases, 24 million euros in investments in assets and another 5 million euros in logistics activities.

La entrada Ence will invest nearly 80 million euros through its Navia biofactory to boost decarbonisation in Asturias se publicó primero en Ence.

October 3, 2024. A total of 495 initiatives have been submitted in the new call for the Ence Social Plan in Pontevedra, endowed with three million euros. This registration represents a 30% growth compared to the number of projects in the 2023 edition.

Grassroots Sport, with a total of 254 projects, and Education and Culture, which has reached 78, have been the most requested areas of action. These figures represent a growth of 38% and 95%, respectively, compared to the initiatives in the same categories presented in the 2023 edition. Also noteworthy are the 76 actions in the Recovery and Care of the Environment, the 55 in the area of ​​Promotion of Social Inclusion and the 32 focused on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Ence will announce the results of the call for proposals, which began on September 2 and ended on October 1, before the end of this year 2024. The list of beneficiaries can be consulted through the Ence Social Plan website (plansocialence.es). In addition, as in previous calls, each applicant will receive a notification about the evaluation and the result of the submitted project.

At Ence we would like to thank all the entities and individuals for their commitment to this great social initiative focused on the municipalities of Pontevedra, Marín and Poio and which is in line with the company’s strategic commitment to sustainability.

La entrada Ence’s Social Plan closes its call with nearly 500 projects submitted, 30% more than in the previous edition se publicó primero en Ence.

This was announced by the company at the International Bioenergy Congress being held on 1 and 2 October in Valladolid, where it also emphasised the importance of biomethane in achieving climate neutrality through the decarbonisation of the production system.

The company’s drive for this line of business is based on its relevant track record as a benchmark in forest mass management, its position as the leading Spanish company in renewable energy generation with agricultural and forestry biomass, and its expertise in the development of a circular economy model.

Boosting decarbonisation

The European Commission’s REPowerEU Plan gives biomethane a prominent role in achieving Europe’s energy independence objectives. However, in Spain there is still a long way to go. According to the publication of the European Biogas Association (EBA) for 2024, Spain only has nine biomethane plants compared to 675 in France (477 in 2022), 254 in Germany, 133 in Italy and 119 in the United Kingdom.

According to EBA estimates, Europe will invest a total of 24.5 billion euros by 2030. Denmark leads with 3.6 billion euros, followed by Poland (3.4 billion), Italy (2.4 billion) and the United Kingdom (2.3 billion). Spain is expected to reach an investment of 1.5 billion euros.

On a national level, given the considerable size of the agri-food and livestock sector in our country, Spain stands out for its high potential in the production of biomethane. This renewable gas is 100% compatible with the existing gas infrastructure and also with all end-user equipment, which would make it possible to boost the decarbonisation of our economy. In addition, it has the capacity to promote the circular economy and revitalise rural areas through the creation of local employment.

La entrada Ence to achieve biomethane production of 1TWh per year by 2030 se publicó primero en Ence.

The pazo of Vilabade (Castroverde, Lugo) was the place chosen for this first meeting. Alberto Amil, president of the Horsal cooperative, and Francisco Javier Fernández, biologist and livestock farmer, were the protagonists of this first edition. Alberto Amil told the audience about the history of Horsal, a benchmark organisation in the Galician horticultural sector that brings together 90 families, combining tradition and innovation since it was founded in 1985. For his part, Francisco Javier Fernández related his experience as a livestock farmer and explained the development of his Damil project, an example of vocation and commitment to sustainability and the rural environment.

The forum ‘En Primeira Persoa do Rural’ addressed issues that are increasing on the public agenda, such as depopulation and demographic winter that affect many rural areas. During the event, it was emphasised that the solution to these problems lies in promoting genuine initiatives, led by those who already live, work, and want to remain in their rural communities. Furthermore, the importance of accompanying these initiatives with investments, infrastructure and public services, essential elements to guarantee a dignified life in rural areas, was highlighted.

Both speakers agreed on the need to continue promoting training, support for small businesses and the recognition of the countryside as an area of innovation and opportunities. Francisco Javier Fernández Arias shared his experience of ‘returning to his origins’ to start up an ecological and sustainable farm. He also highlighted the need to revalue the economic and environmental work that the primary sector provides in our community so that more and more young people join this way of life because, as he said, ‘without people there is no rural life’.

On the other hand, Alberto Amil Chavel, president of Horsal, conveyed to the audience his passion for working in the countryside because of the freedom that the rural environment offers and the possibility of ‘being the master of your time’.

The forum concluded with a joint reflection on the importance of rural areas for the sustainability of society and its future. It was underlined that, although it is not always perceived from the cities, rural areas are fundamental to guarantee food sovereignty and the production of food and essential products.

This first ‘En Primeira Persoa do Rural’ forum reinforces Ence Terra’s commitment to the rural environment and its sustainable development, recognising the value of the people who, with effort and dedication, build a more prosperous future for their communities on a daily basis.

La entrada Ence Terra promotes the first forum ‘Primeira Persoa do Rural’, a space to give voice to the characters of the present and future of our countryside se publicó primero en Ence.

The Plan, to which Ence allocates three million euros each year, is one of the largest social initiatives carried out by a private company in Spain. It represents an important contribution to the social integration and quality of life of the inhabitants of Pontevedra and its region, through the development of actions to promote education and care for the environment.

Ence’s Social Plan in Pontevedra has helped to promote a total of 1,117 projects that include actions capable of detecting fires prematurely through the use of gas sensors; sustainable mobility initiatives, through E-kletta’s “eco-routes”; projects such as the Ría de Pontevedra Accelerator to promote entrepreneurship and innovation towards sustainable business models; reforestation and carbon fixation initiatives by Probosque or actions focused on groups with different abilities.

Reception of applications until October 1st

The deadline for submitting applications will end on Tuesday, October 1. From Ence we encourage entities or individuals in the region to submit their projects through the web portal Plan Social Ence Pontevedra – Compromiso coa sociedade, where you can also consult the rules of the call and get more information on previous editions. Also, through the mail, plansocialpontevedra@ence.es we will answer any questions related to this initiative.

La entrada Great reception of the new edition of the Social Plan of Ence Pontevedra se publicó primero en Ence.

• With an associated investment of more than 15 million euros, the project is part of the company’s decarbonization roadmap, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all its production centers by 2030

• This brewery, the largest in the country and one of the highest producers in Europe, is a benchmark within the sector in process efficiency, valorization and responsible consumption of resources

Mahou San Miguel, a 100% Spanish family-owned beverage company and leader in the brewing sector in our country, is advancing on its decarbonization roadmap with an ambitious project that will allow it to reduce direct CO2 emissions from its factory in Alovera (Guadalajara) by 95%. This will be done thanks to the collaboration of Magnon Servicios Energéticos, a subsidiary of the Ence Group, which will lead the construction, start-up and operation of a facility to generate thermal energy from biomass, a renewable, safe and clean source of energy.

With an estimated cost of more than 15 million euros, Ence, through its subsidiary Magnon Servicios Energéticos, will invest and execute the project at the brewery’s facilities, also assuming the operation, maintenance and supply of thermal energy in the form of superheated water. The biomass plant will operate in combination with the existing natural gas installation, drastically reducing the use of this fossil fuel by the company. The biomass supplied will have the SURE certification, which accredits its sustainable supply and production.

“We are aware of the need to promote changes in the production system and we are moving forward decisively in solutions that allow us to optimize our processes and reduce our environmental impact as much as possible” – says Nicolás Castrejón, Director of Operations at Mahou San Miguel – “Within our unique industrial footprint, Alovera plays a key role in promoting energy efficiency and self-generation projects that we will extend to the rest of the company’s production centers to achieve carbon neutrality in 2030” – he adds.

“We are convinced that the decarbonization of industrial thermal demand is one of the great challenges of the energy transition” – explains Lidia Roca, General Manager of Magnon Servicios Energéticos, – “within the framework of the change in the energy model towards a decarbonized and renewable system, the Ence Group offers sustainable energy solutions, products and services through the most cutting-edge technologies”.

The forecast of both companies is to start the execution works in the first quarter of 2025 so that the facility is operational in 2026.

More than 220 million euros to promote sustainability

The biomass plant at the Alovera factory is one of the 19 projects included in the first line of aid granted by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, within the framework of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for industrial decarbonisation of our country that will allow a reduction of 551,000 million tons of CO2 per year.

It is also part of Mahou San Miguel’s “Vamos 2030” Plan, a ten-year roadmap endowed with more than 220 million euros to promote sustainability throughout its entire value chain with measurable objectives and goals. Within the natural habitat axis, the company has committed to achieving carbon neutrality in all its production centres by 2030.
In achieving this objective, the Alovera facilities play a key role due to their size and relevance within the company’s map of operations, which, with eight breweries and four natural mineral water springs in Spain, has the largest industrial footprint in the sector.

The plant located in Guadalajara stands out as the largest brewery in Spain, ranking in the top 3 in terms of production at European level, with a capacity of seven million hectolitres per year. This makes it a spearhead and a benchmark in many aspects, also due to its optimal environmental performance and the use of innovative technologies and eco-efficient practices. The centre has a photovoltaic solar park for self-consumption with an installed capacity of 4.3 MW peak and uses 100% renewable electricity. Furthermore, 15% of the thermal energy used in its production is already self-generated and, like the rest of the company’s plants, it is zero waste thanks to its valorisation and reuse in other processes.

Biomass, a key element of industrial decarbonisation

One of the identifying features of Ence’s value proposition is its extensive supply capacity, as well as its leadership and extensive experience in the comprehensive and sustainable management of biomass. In this way, Ence guarantees its clients a local, sustainable and certified resource, through which industrial companies will be able to reduce their CO2 emissions and decarbonise their activity.

Thanks to Ence’s long history in the operation of biomass energy generation assets, its clients can outsource the management of their energy needs, allowing them to meet their decarbonisation objectives through a tailored, efficient model that produces economic advantages, reduces operational risks and has a high-value socio-environmental impact on the territory, contributing to the structuring and development of the rural environment.

La entrada Mahou San Miguel and Ence will launch a biomass plant in Alovera se publicó primero en Ence.

The company will implement a work plan to incorporate new technologies and improve existing ones. Ence will allocate an investment of ten million euros to these actions. A total of eight million euros will be invested in the maintenance of the biofactory’s efficiency. To this investment must be added two million more for extraordinary investments to improve the facilities in terms of efficiency and digitalization in order to maintain Ence Pontevedra as a benchmark in its sector.

The company will also continue to focus on the safety and health of all people involved in its activities. Within this framework, during the shutdown, compliance with all safety measures within the facilities will be strictly supervised.

Commitment to development in Pontevedra

Ence is firmly committed to investing and creating activity in the Pontevedra region. For this reason, a significant sample of the auxiliary companies that will work during the technical shutdown are Galician. In addition, other services such as accommodation and food for the workers will be provided by companies from the area around the city of Pontevedra.

For Ence, the technical shutdown of its biofactories is a structural element of its operational strategy, as it is focused on optimizing several of the main axes of its management model: environmental and safety excellence, continuous improvement of its facilities and commitment to the community.

In this regard, it should be recalled that the Ence Pontevedra biofactory has been recognized with the AENOR 2023 Award for two decades of environmental care. Likewise, the Ence Group has recently revalidated the recognition of Sustainalitycs as the leading company in its sector worldwide in ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria, and the Platinum Medal of Ecovadis, which identifies Ence at the global forefront in sustainability.

La entrada Ence Pontevedra begins its annual technical shutdown, to which it will allocate more than 10 million euros se publicó primero en Ence.

Jordi Aguiló has a solid track record of more than a decade in the pulp, paper and board production industry and in the energy field. Since 2012, he has held various management roles at Ence, including general manager of the Energy business and general manager of the Pulp business. Currently, Aguiló is CEO of Ence’s Pulp business and serves as chairman of Ence Biogas, the Ence subsidiary that promotes the circular economy by transforming organic waste into biogas.

At a key moment for reindustrialization, Jordi Aguiló will chair the national association of an essential sector, which positions our country as the sixth largest producer of paper and cardboard and among the top five in pulp production in the European Union. The industry also ranks Spain as the third largest paper and cardboard recycler in the European Union and generates 16,694 direct jobs and around 85,000 indirect jobs. Aguiló’s experience, together with the commitment and commitment to innovation of ASPAPEL and the entire sector, will help the pulp, paper and board industry to improve its competitiveness, strengthen the challenge of decarbonization and remain at the forefront of the bioeconomy and circularity.

Aguiló holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, a degree in physics from the Universitat de Barcelona and an Executive MBA from IESE. All his experience has given him a broad perspective in the management and optimization of operations in energy and pulp related sectors, very valuable in building a more innovative and sustainable paper industry.

About ASPAPEL

ASPAPEL (Spanish Association of Pulp, Paper and Cardboard Manufacturers) is a statewide professional organization, which brings together companies in the pulp and paper sector. The associated companies account for 95% of the sector’s production. The association’s objective is to contribute to the competitive and sustainable development of its member companies and to promote the image of the sector, its companies and products.

The paper and cardboard industry in Spain has an annual turnover of around 5,300 million euros, producing 6 million tons of paper and 1.6 million tons of pulp. It directly employs 16,964 professionals, generating around 85,000 indirect jobs, and has positioned Spain as the third largest paper and cardboard recycler in the EU (according to data from 2023).

La entrada Jordi Aguiló, Ence’s Pulp General Manager, appointed new President of ASPAPEL se publicó primero en Ence.

The objective is to respond to the high demand for qualified personnel by companies in the sector, contribute to increase safety and efficiency at work, improve the professionalization of the sector, and generate employment opportunities in rural areas.

It is expected that some of the students, once they have completed the course, will start working in leading companies in the forestry sector, such as forest harvesting and timber auctioneers, contributing to their professional growth. In fact, there is a high demand for personnel from these companies, having achieved practically full job placement in previous editions of this initiative.

In addition, and as part of Ence Terra’s commitment to equality, the aim is to promote the hiring of female talent, which is less represented in the forestry occupation.

During the course, students will learn the theoretical basics of machinery operation and maintenance, and will practice on a state-of-the-art simulator and on professional machines. In addition, they will attend an occupational risk prevention course to obtain a certificate in occupational risk prevention, which will help train professionals with safety knowledge.

In this training, students will be provided with real machinery, simulators and all the necessary tools and equipment to guarantee a training experience as close as possible to the work environment.

The course will be given by the training company Grupo Forma-t in Villalba (Lugo), will begin in September and will last two months and will be classroom-based. The program is aimed at unemployed people and has 15 places available.

Those interested in the course can get information or sign up for it by calling 982 51 36 05, sending an e-mail to info@grupoforma-t.es and psanchez@ence.es or through the web page https://www.grupoforma-t.com/cursos-procesadora-y-autocargador-forestal-ence/.

La entrada Ence Terra and Forma-t are promoting a new course in September to train forestry machinists in the operation of harvesters and forwarders se publicó primero en Ence.

Applicants must choose an area of ​​action according to the characteristics of their project. The budgets assigned to each area in this 2024 call are as follows:

The grants are available to individuals or legal entities that present projects to be carried out in the municipalities of Pontevedra, Marín and Poio. Exceptionally, projects in other areas may also be supported, especially those related to forestry activities and environmental conservation.

As on previous occasions, in this new edition of the Pontevedra Social Plan, applications for aid will be submitted through the website www.plansocialence.es , where the terms and conditions of this call and all the information on previous ones can also be consulted. In addition, the company has an email account (plansocialpontevedra@ence.es) to make any queries related to the Plan.

The Ence Social Plan in Pontevedra has benefited 1,117 projects over the years, which have directly contributed to improving the quality of life of citizens and the conditions of a large part of the groups at risk of exclusion in Pontevedra and its region.

La entrada Ence opens a new call for aid from its Pontevedra Social Plan se publicó primero en Ence.

The company considers environmental education to be fundamental to continue advancing towards a more sustainable future, as it contributes to creating greater awareness of the environment and its care. It also considers it essential to make the professional opportunities that the industry and renewable energies represent visible to young students. For this reason, a large number of these visits came from schools and universities in the geographical areas close to the plant.

Based on transparency and proximity, also pillars of Ence’s commitment to society, neighborhood groups, sports and cultural entities have also been received at the biofactory in order to bring Ence’s processes closer to society and promote their knowledge.

During these visits, attendees have the opportunity to learn about the company’s business model, based on circular production processes, in which all raw materials are used and the consumption of natural resources and waste generation are minimized, resulting in cellulose products of natural origin, biodegradable and recyclable, as well as generating renewable energy from biomass.

Ence’s Pontevedra plant has been repeatedly recognized for its excellent environmental performance. Among the most outstanding awards and certifications are the AENOR 2023 Award for two decades of environmental care, recognition by Sustainalitycs as the leading company in its sector worldwide in ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria, and the Ecovadis Platinum Medal, which identifies Ence as a world leader in sustainability. The plant has also received the Nordic Swan ecolabel from the Nordic countries, the European Commission’s Gold Medal for environmental improvement, and AENOR’s “Zero Waste” certificate. The biomass it uses also has the “Sure” certificate, which guarantees its sustainability.

Through these visits, Ence seeks to transmit its strategic values; specifically, the importance of responsible production and consumption, as well as the commitment to environmental care. All this in order to continue moving towards decarbonization and circular bioeconomy, while generating sustainable employment and wealth in the territory.

La entrada Ence’s biofactory in Pontevedra received close to 400 visitors in the first half of the year se publicó primero en Ence.

This milestone highlights the company’s robust sustainable biomass management system, which is not only limited to the supply of all its power plants, but also extends to the supply of sustainable biomass to third parties, thus ensuring that all biomass managed by the company meets all EU sustainability requirements.

The Sure standard is a European regulation that sets the official criteria to be met by all biomasses used in the bioenergy sector. This certification ensures compliance with the requirements of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (REDII), in terms of sustainability, correct mass balance, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.

The two plants of the Ence Group’s renewable energy subsidiary in Ciudad Real, Biollano, located in Puertollano, and Enemansa, located in Villarta de San Juan, have revalidated this certificate, thus guaranteeing compliance with the requirements established by the RED II Directive, developed in Spain in the Royal Decree of transposition 376/2022, of May 17.

Sustainability is one of the fundamental pillars on which Magnon’s management system rests, an aspect that reinforces its leadership within the biomass and renewable energy sources sector.

Magnon’s presence in Castilla la Mancha, and especially in Ciudad Real, not only contributes to decarbonizing the Spanish electricity system, but also boosts the region’s economy. According to data provided by the Association of Renewable Energy Companies (APPA), the Enemansa and Biollano plants create a total of 1,650 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the Castile-La Mancha area, boosting its development and growth.

La entrada Magnon’s plants in Castilla la Mancha revalidate the sustainability of all their biomass with the Sure scheme. se publicó primero en Ence.