Lonza signs new multi-year strategies with utility companies to lower energy use at Lonza’s Portsmouth site through innovative solutions

MANCHESTER, N.H. (January 29, 2025) – Eversource, Unitil and Lonza have reinforced their long-standing collaboration through the signing of new Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) that reinforce their collective commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency in New Hampshire. Eversource and Lonza have built a strong collaboration over the past decade, continuing to drive innovative solutions to lower electrical energy use at Lonza’s site in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, while advancing Lonza’s strategic sustainability goals.

The goal of Eversource and Lonza’s MOU is to implement energy efficiency retrofit measures at Lonza’s Portsmouth site. During this three-year period, Eversource will provide up to $3 million in aggregate in incentives to implement retrofit and new construction measures, with the goal of lowering energy consumption on site by four percent (4%) annually and reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. In 2023, Eversource co-sponsored a comprehensive energy audit that identified and proposed approximately 40 retrofit measures at the site. Several of these have already been implemented with additional initiatives planned for 2025 and beyond, many of which will be addressed under the scope of the new MOU.

Photo: From left to right: Eversource Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Electric Mobility Tilak Subrahmanian, Lonza Portsmouth Site Head Christophe Royer, and Unitil Director of External Affairs Alec O’Meara

Christophe Royer, Site Head, Lonza Portsmouth said: “This collaboration highlights our commitment to driving long-term operational efficiency, reducing energy costs, and achieving Lonza’s global ambition of net-zero by 2050. Building on our previous and ongoing projects with Eversource and Unitil, we look forward to advancing additional innovative energy efficiency solutions that align with our commitment to sustainability and deliver positive impact for our local community here in New Hampshire.”

“We have seen significant energy efficiency improvements with Lonza in Portsmouth as a result of our decade-long collaboration, exemplifying the positive impact that strong partnerships with the business community can have on energy usage, cost and sustainability,” said Eversource Vice President of Energy Efficiency and Electric Mobility Tilak Subrahmanian. “Between 2020–2023, we completed a range of energy efficiency projects resulting in over three million annual kWh savings – the equivalent of driving over five million miles in gas-powered cars. We look forward to building on these gains as we implement our new MOU and help Lonza to meet its emissions reduction goals, while we contribute together to energy conservation and broader environmental progress that will benefit customers across New Hampshire.”

Separately, Lonza has signed an MOU with Unitil for 2024–2026 that is anticipated to yield a minimum expected saving of 300,000 annual therms. The savings will be delivered through efficiency measures in manufacturing processes, alongside an update to HVAC system operations – equivalent to heating over 600 homes each winter. This would yield a reduction in gas use at the facility of approximately ten percent each year.

“We’re thrilled to be able to assist Lonza with its efficiency goals and help in finding smart, long-term solutions for the site’s energy needs,” said Unitil Director of External Affairs Alec O’Meara. “When businesses like Lonza take advantage of energy efficiency programs in order to lower costs and reduce emissions, our whole region benefits.”

This MOU approach – together with the 2024–2026 New Hampshire Statewide Energy Efficiency Plan, jointly administered by the NHSaves® utility partners – brings certainty to funding availability and program stability to support customer sustainability goals. Lonza’s commitment to these MOUs offers an example of how some of New Hampshire’s largest organizations can collaborate with the state’s electric and natural gas utilities to achieve significant sustainability gains and energy management goals. 

About Eversource

Eversource (NYSE: ES), celebrated as a national leader for its corporate citizenship, is among the top energy companies in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2024 and recognized as a Five-Year Champion, appearing in every edition of the list. Eversource is New Hampshire’s largest electric utility, serving nearly 535,000 homes and businesses in 211 cities and towns, and also supplies water to approximately 10,300 homes and businesses in eight communities. Eversource is proud to be recognized as the #1 contributor to United Way in New Hampshire. Eversource harnesses the commitment of more than 10,000 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and water with superior customer service. The #1 energy efficiency provider in the nation, the company is empowering a clean energy future in the Northeast, with nationally recognized energy efficiency solutions and successful programs to integrate new clean energy resources like a first-in-the-nation networked geothermal pilot project, solar, offshore wind, electric vehicles and battery storage, into the electric system. For more information, please visit eversource.com, and follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more information on our water services, visit aquarionwater.com.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation provides energy for life by safely and reliably delivering natural gas and electricity in New England. We are committed to the communities we serve and to developing people, business practices and technologies that lead to dependable, more efficient energy. Unitil Corporation is a public utility holding company with operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Together, Unitil’s operating utilities serve approximately 108,500 electric customers and 88,400 gas customers. For more information about our people, technologies and community involvement please visit unitil.com.

About Lonza

Lonza is one of the world’s largest healthcare manufacturing organizations. Working across five continents, our global community of approximately 18,500 colleagues helps pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition companies to bring their treatments to market. We support our customers with a combination of technological insight, world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise, process excellence and innovation. Our work enables our customers to develop and commercialize their therapeutic discoveries, allowing their patients to benefit from life-saving and life-enhancing treatments.

Our company generated sales of CHF 6.6 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 1.9 billion in Full-Year 2024. Find out more at www.lonza.com

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CONTACT:
William Hinkle
603-634-2228
william.hinkle@eversource.com