Kronospan Energy is seeking approximately \u20ac130 million from Valmet over alleged defects and performance problems at a biomass power plant in Luxembourg, opening a dispute over an energy investment delivered as the wood-panel producer expanded its Sanem manufacturing complex.<\/p>\n
The arbitration concerns CHP3, a combined heat and power plant supplied by Valmet Technologies under a January 2022 agreement and taken over by Kronospan on July 12, 2024. Valmet disclosed the proceedings on November 9, 2026, rejected the allegations and said it would pursue claims of its own.<\/p>\n
Most of Kronospan\u2019s preliminary demand concerns the value of the installation itself: \u20ac102 million for an alleged loss in value, alongside \u20ac23 million in lost profit at Sanem. Valmet did not detail the remaining approximately \u20ac5 million. Kronospan has reserved the right to amend or increase its claims.<\/p>\n
The demand exceeds the roughly \u20ac100 million that Valmet says a project of comparable scope would typically cost. The company has not disclosed the actual price of the CHP3 contract.<\/p>\n
Valmet\u2019s defence refers explicitly to fuel and operating conditions. It maintains that the plant achieved its contractual performance requirements when operated with the agreed fuel and in accordance with the purchase agreement. Its announcement does not identify the alleged equipment defects, provide operating results or specify any departure from the agreed fuel specifications. The technical cause of the disagreement therefore remains undisclosed.<\/p>\n
Luxembourg\u2019s environmental authorisation provides a clearer picture of the installation\u2019s scale. Issued in October 2023, it lists CHP3 with a thermal capacity of 138 MW, compared with 42 MW for CHP1 and 105 MW for CHP2. CHP3 is consequently the largest of the three cogeneration boilers listed at the site. The authorisation covers the recovery of both hazardous and non-hazardous wood waste through co-incineration, subject to specified operating and emissions conditions. These permitted waste categories do not establish the fuel specifications agreed between Kronospan and Valmet.<\/p>\n
The energy project accompanied a substantial expansion in panel manufacturing. The same permit lists authorised production capacities of 3,000 m\u00b3 a day for particleboard, 1,550 m\u00b3 for OSB and 700 m\u00b3 for MDF. Kronospan announced production of its first particleboard made entirely from recycled wood on June 28, 2024, two weeks before the contractual takeover of CHP3. The company also reported that the first of three new melamine-facing lines was operational, with further finishing capacity and an automated warehouse under construction.<\/p>\n
Sanem\u2019s energy investments had already absorbed considerable capital before CHP3. In June 2020, Kronospan said it had completed a project worth more than \u20ac250 million covering recycling facilities and its first two combined heat and power plants. By June 2024, the company described the three CHP units as generating more electricity than the factory consumed, with surplus power sold to Luxembourg\u2019s national grid. Energy generation was thus also a source of external revenue, although the arbitration announcement does not explain how Kronospan calculated its \u20ac23 million lost-profit claim.<\/p>\n
Public financing records add another part of the investment history. Finnvera, Finland\u2019s export credit agency, disclosed an \u20ac89.2 million credit supporting Valmet Technologies\u2019 deliveries to Kronospan Energy in Luxembourg. Commerzbank was the lender and guarantee holder, with Finnvera providing 95% cover under an agreement signed on August 31, 2022. Kronospan AG and Kronospan Luxembourg were named as guarantors. The disclosure identifies the financing amount without establishing the full purchase price of CHP3.<\/p>\n
There is also a public record of operational incidents at Sanem during summer 2026, but no established connection to the arbitration. In an August 14 response published by the municipality, Kronospan said it had restarted CHP2 and CHP3 on July 22\u201323. A safety-valve problem during that restart caused additional noise at CHP2, and the company subsequently installed a silencer on August 6\u20137. Kronospan said the valve problem had been resolved. That account specifically concerns CHP2; it does not identify a corresponding defect at CHP3 or explain the claims now brought against Valmet.<\/p>\n
Valmet has not disclosed the amount or basis of its intended counterclaims, the arbitration timetable or a detailed breakdown of the disputed performance requirements. Management says that, on the grounds currently presented, it does not expect a material adverse effect on the group\u2019s operations or financial position. That assessment remains preliminary, while Kronospan\u2019s demand remains open to revision.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n