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Alva selects Sumitomo SHI FW’s Digital Services to ensure successful transition to biomass fuel and sustainable energy generation

20 November 2025
  • News

Alva, a utility company owned by the City of Jyväskylä in Finland, has chosen Sumitomo SHI FW’s (SFW) advanced Digital Services to support its transition away from fossil fuels and toward more sustainable energy production. The focus of the collaboration is on maintaining maximum boiler output and high availability at Alva’s Keljonlahti CFB boiler, as the company replaces peat entirely with biomass fuel.

As a more environmentally friendly but also a more variable and demanding fuel, biomass can be a contributing factor to operational challenges, such as unexpected shutdowns, fouling, and reduced boiler efficiency. To meet these challenges, Alva is deploying SFW’s suite of IZANA analytics services, which provide real-time insights, predictive diagnostics, and actionable recommendations. These tools empower operators to make data-driven decisions and corrective actions, helping maintain stable operation, high availability, and full power output while using biomass fuel.

  • Our goal is to maintain high availability and full power output of our boiler, even with the more demanding biomass fuel. These analytics tools are critical in helping us meet our sustainability targets without compromising performance, says Janne Hakonen, O&M Manager at Alva.
  • We’re proud to support Alva in this important transition. Our analytics services are designed to give operators the clarity and confidence they need to manage complex fuel behavior and maintain optimal performance under changing conditions, says Atte Kallijärvi, Sales Manager at SFW.

The transformation at Alva is powered by SFW’s Digital Services, IZANATM, which includes the following solutions:

  1. Envelope: Full utilization of boiler capacity with variable fuel mix and fluctuating fuel qualities
  2. Hotloop Diagnostics: Comprehensive bed management and circulation condition monitoring to maximize availability
  3. Fouling Management: Adaptive soot blowing cycles for improved boiler performance
  4. Leakage Detection: Early detection of boiler leakages to minimize downtime and repair costs
  5. Combustion Management: Enhances combustion process, reduces emissions and operating costs
  6. Grid Condition Monitoring: Enables planned maintenance and reduced operating costs
  7. Process View with Balance Calculations: Monitors boiler performance in real-time

 

For more information, please contact

Sales Manager Atte Kallijärvi, Lifecycle Solutions, Sumitomo SHI FW, [email protected],
tel. +358 50 317 0547

About SFW

Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) is a global provider of solutions and services that drive the decarbonization of energy. Our solutions include energy from biomass and waste, long duration energy storage, sustainable fuels, carbon capture, flue gas cleaning, waste heat boilers, as well as related services to digitalize, optimize, and decarbonize assets that we deliver to the global power and industrial markets.

We strive to provide sustainable energy solutions for customers in a wide range of industries including energy, waste, chemicals, metal, sustainable fuels, cement and pulp and paper. SFW’s excellence in delivering projects worldwide relies on our 1,800 talented people, across 20 locations in 14 countries, with deep know-how and experience in the industry.

Powering a decarbonized world for everyone. For more information, please visit Sumitomo SHI FW at shi-fw.com.

About Alva-yhtiöt Oy

Alva is a Finnish utility company owned by the City of Jyväskylä. It provides electricity, district heating, and water services, with a strong focus on ecological responsibility and innovation. Learn more at www.alva.fi.