Mäkelä Alu, the family-owned company in Ostrobothnia, Finland, set an ambitious goal to be carbon-neutral by 2025. With Calefa heat pumps, the goal is almost achieved. In addition to winning the Outstanding Projects category in the Net-Zero Industries Award competition in November 2024, Mäkelä Alu has also been recognized in its home country.
Calefa and Mäkelä Alu collaboration in brief
- The collaboration between Mäkelä Alu and Calefa began in 2016 and covers four energy systems.
- Three of the implementations utilize waste heat from production – from the extrusion line, the anodizing plant, and the foundry.
- At the Voikkaa site, a heat pump plant replaces the use of natural gas.
- The Voikkaa and Alajärvi sites are also equipped with 510 kW electric boilers supplied by Calefa.
- The collaboration has reduced CO₂ emissions by thousands of tonnes per year.
- In 2025, Mäkelä Alu achieved carbon neutrality for its own production.
- The work continues – Calefa supports further development through system optimization and maintenance with the CalefaCare service.
At Mäkelä Alu, a company that designs and manufactures aluminium profiles, environmental issues and carbon dioxide emissions were addressed long before the topic became widely discussed.
The Finnish company set an ambitious goal to be carbon-neutral by 2025. At the end of 2024, with annual carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 700 tons and the annual consumption of 300 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reduced to one-tenth, the goal set nearly 10 years ago is just one step away.
LPG consumption has been reduced so much that switching from gas energy to biogas will be possible within a few years. With the transition to biogas, the energy system of the anodizing plant will become completely carbon-neutral.
Pioneering Success with the Help of Calefa
The collaboration between Calefa and Mäkelä Alu began in 2016 when the company invested in a new aluminum extrusion line. The extrusion line, which started in 2017, was designed to be as energy-efficient as possible while enabling the reuse of excess heat.
Calefa implemented a cooling-and-energy-reuse system for Mäkelä Alu in the form of a hybrid module. The module combines compressor cooling, free cooling, and heat pumps.
The cooling of the press can utilize 1MW of thermal power for reuse, simultaneously reducing the need for purchased energy and CO2 emissions. This energy-efficient modular solution meant that no space inside the factory had to be allocated for cooling and heating technology.
Energy Efficiency Work Has Continued as a Partnership
Next, the development of the cooling and heating system anodizing plant was undertaken at the Luoma-Aho village, situated in Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Previously, cooling was managed with mains water, and the old steam center had a massive carbon footprint. These were replaced with a heat pump system equipped with heat recovery, which is supplemented by an electric boiler when necessary.
The modern cooling system has brought significant improvements to process technology. For example, the caustic cooling processes have been automated so that the caustic no longer heats up at all. Previously, the line had to be stopped due to rising temperatures, but such production interruptions are now a thing of the past thanks to efficient cooling.
With the improvement of targeted extraction using fan technology, indoor air quality has improved, and ventilation efficiency has been reduced by 40%. Not only does this save energy, but the negative pressure that previously plagued the hall is also gone.
The Result: World's Cleanest Certified Aluminum Profile Production
Waste heat generated in various parts of the production facility is collected by the heat pump system, which processes the heat for the factory’s processes, building ventilation, and hall heating.
Over the years, the number of exploitable waste heat sources has been increased, and the number of heat pumps has been expanded. The latest upgrade was implemented in the summer of 2023, doubling the factory’s heat pump capacity.
In addition, Calefa has impelemented two 510 kW electric boilers for Mäkelä Alu, one in Alajärvi and one in Voikkaa.
The family-owned company from Southern Ostrobothnia has taken a clear role as a trailblazer in aluminum profile manufacturing. According to Tomi Pilbacka, Development Director of Mäkelä Alu, all these projects save energy and result in financial savings on energy costs, but the primary goal for the company is to reduce emissions.
“I see Calefa as a good, reliable, and knowledgeable partner. The fact that we have the confidence to start new projects immediately after the previous one has ended surely speaks to our satisfaction. The collaboration continues with smiles,” says Pilbacka.
Mäkelä Alu was awarded Energy Efficient of the Year on 10 December 2024 in Finland and the national winner of the Net-Zero Industries Award in the Outsanding projects category on 18 November 2024 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
