Samvaz SA designed and prefabricated the 41 heating and cooling distribution modules for the PLACAD plant in Fribourg. A demanding downtown job site, serving an energy supply that is 100% renewable and locally produced.
A project at the heart of the energy transition
By 2027, water from the Sarine river will heat the Pérolles plateau. A pumping station on the Maigrauge dam, an underground pipeline, and the expansion of the existing PLACAD plant will deliver a substantial supply of heat to Fribourg’s CAD district heating network — enough to cover the heating needs of roughly 7,500 households, with energy that is fully renewable and generated on site.
Built on the former Ritter brownfield site, the plant expansion will house three water-to-water heat pumps along with two gas boilers dedicated to winter peak load and backup requirements. In total, the PLACAD site will produce 20 MW of heating and 3.2 MW of cooling.
A job site with multiple constraints
Building a district heating plant in the middle of the city, right next to universities and residential buildings, brings no shortage of constraints. A sloped site on the edge of a forest, with limited access. A student environment that is highly sensitive to noise, particularly during exam periods. An existing section of building to be integrated into the plans. And available floor space to be used to the fullest.
These were among the many technical and logistical challenges that Nicolas Petitpierre and his team had to master. Producing 20 MW of heating and 3.2 MW of cooling — partly within existing premises and partly in a newly built annex — also calls for substantial infrastructure: DN 500 heating lines and DN 600 cooling lines feed the plant’s outlets.
Prefabrication as the answer
Distributing heating and cooling required 41 modules, all built on the same base construction, yet each with its own specific features tied to its function or its location.
To optimize schedules, costs, and installation time, the chosen approach was to prefabricate the modules, preassemble the components in the workshop, and deliver each unit complete. On site, a mobile crane made it possible to position the modules quickly and precisely in their final locations. All 41 modules were installed in a very short time, during hours that respected the surrounding neighborhood.
This solution grew out of close collaboration between Nicolas Petitpierre of Groupe E and Yvan Pittet of Samvaz. Standardizing the dimensions made welded frame structures possible, optimizing cost, weight, and assembly time alike. In return, it demanded highly precise planning, since welded structures leave little room for later modifications. The internal crossmembers, made from profiles sized to the load, were left free to move.
Given the sheer volume of the frames, deliveries to the workshop had to be carefully coordinated between Groupe E and Samvaz, so as not to slow down assembly while accounting for the shop floor space available for this project.
A first with DN 600 cooling
Pipe clamps for DN 500 heating are among the specialty items Samvaz produces on a regular basis. The DN 600 cooling line, on the other hand, was a first for our teams. Cooling clamps are limited to the lower saddle, which reduces both cost and the time needed to insulate the lines.
PLACAD is a showcase for what we do best: turning job site constraints into industrialized solutions, engineered and manufactured in Châtel-Saint-Denis.
The full PLACAD project documentation is available in our Downloads section.
