EBRD Invests in Renewable Energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina

With a single investment in renewable energy, the EBRD is helping Bosnian pulp and paper producer Natron Hayat generate electricity and save money while also cutting its carbon emissions and reducing the environmental impact of the waste it produces.

A €10 million EBRD loan to Natron Hayat will be used for the installation of a biomass boiler and steam turbine that will run on bark and sawdust left over from the pulp-making process. This means the waste material no longer has to be taken to landfill sites or piled up around the production facility.

By using biomass instead of coal to produce steam and electricity for Natron Hayat’s manufacturing process, the boiler is expected to cut the plant’s carbon emissions by some 275,000 tonnes a year.

Furthermore, any surplus of electricity may be sold to the national power grid. So not only will the company have to buy significantly less fuel to generate the power it needs to operate, but it could also earn revenue from converting waste produce into an energy source.

Frederic Lucenet, EBRD Director for Manufacturing and Services, said: “This will be the first combined heat and power plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina to deliver energy generated from industrial waste to the national grid. The project will benefit the environment by providing a solution to the company’s waste disposal issue and by reducing carbon emissions. We hope it will have a strong demonstration effect for other private players in the Bosnian economy.”

Mr Lucenet added: “The EBRD is very glad to support foreign direct investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially with such high-quality regional sponsors.”

Natron Hayat is majority-owned by Turkish sister companies Kastamanou Entegre and Hayat Kimya, which are in turn owned by the Hayat Group.

Yıldırım Aktürk, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Natron Hayat and a member of the Hayat Group board, said: “The Hayat Group is committed to fully supporting and investing in Natron Hayat, especially if local pulp wood supplies can be brought to their full potential in this way.”

Mr Aktürk added: “The Hayat Group has good experience of working with the EBRD in Bosnia and Herzegovina and looks forward to continuing to collaborate with them on supporting Natron Hayat’s development and that of the Bosnian economy.”

Natron Hayat is a leading pulp and paper producer in the Western Balkans employing some 850 staff. Its main products are kraft paper for sacks used in the cement and agribusiness industries, various types of packaging paper and cardboard products. In 2011, it had annual turnover of more than €67 million.

It is an existing EBRD client, having received two previous loans to help modernise its production process and finance its working capital needs.

The latest EBRD loan to Natron Hayat is being provided in two tranches: a tranche of up to €6 million under the Western Balkans Sustainable Energy Direct Financing Facility (WeBSEDFF); and a tranche of up to €4 million under the Local Enterprise Facility (LEF).

Since the beginning of its operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the EBRD has committed more than €1.4 billion in over 100 projects in key sectors of the country’s economy, mobilising additional investments of more than €1.6 billion.