The town of Borås in Sweden is striving to become independent of fossil fuel. The Sobacken Project, involving a combined heat and power plant, sewage treatment plant and a production Plant for biogas, is an important part of the town’s commitment to this goal. The aim is to secure the town’s infrastructure and energy system for the future. The building of Sobacken, with its new combined heat and power plant, sewage treatment plant and additional facility for biogas production, began in the spring of 2015 and is due for completion in 2018. The project’s budget is SEK 3.4 billion and it has attracted both national and international attention due to its focus on future sustainability. For example, Sobacken will guarantee the supply of district heating to the people of Boras, will have the capacity to achieve statutory environmental limits for wastewater, handle all household sewage, and fulfil the town of Boras’ ambitious environmental goals related to renewable electricity.

Because the sewage treatment plant needs safe and reliable pipes and couplings between its wastewater treatment basins, the contractor chose Weholite as its system solution. However, Uponor’s contribution to this complex and prestigious project is not just about supplying Weholite. It also includes project management and technical support such as design and calculations, customized products and field service with onsite installation – all coherently coordinated by Uponor Infra Project Services.

Prefabrication and customization

The primary reason for preferring Weholite to traditional solutions using stainless steel or concrete pipes was the fact that Weholite is extremely flexible and easy to work with. For example, most components can be prefabricated and customized at Uponor Infra. This implies the minimum number of complex operations on site, where poor weather and difficult environmental and ground conditions can make work more difficult. When the prefabricated components are delivered to Sobacken, Uponor Infra’s field service is called in to perform the welding and installation. With prefabricated components, the installation can be completed safely and quickly, saving both time and money. From the very first drawing to the completed installation, the process was controlled by a project manager from Uponor Infra. He was also onsite at Sobacken at least once a week, to check that Uponor Infra was fulfilling its commitments and to ensure that safety margins and quality requirements met.