Invest in Finland

UPM to build the world’s first biorefinery producing wood-based biodiesel

06/02/2012

The Finnish company UPM is investing EUR 150 million in the world’s first industrial scale biorefinery that will produce biofuels from crude tall oil. The biorefinery will be located in Lappeenranta in eastern Finland and is expected to be completed in 2014. According to UPM, the biorefinery will produce approximately 100,000 tonnes of advanced second generation biodiesel for transport annually.

“The biofuels business has excellent growth potential. The quality of our end product and its environmental characteristics has gained significant interest among a wide range of customers, and the investment is profitable. Lappeenranta is the first step on UPM’s way in becoming a significant producer of advanced second generation biofuels,” says Jussi Pesonen, UPM President and CEO.

The main raw material of UPM’s hydrotreatment biorefinery in Lappeenranta is crude tall oil, which is a residue of chemical pulp production, mainly generated in the production of sulphate cellulose from softwood. A significant part of the raw material comes from UPM’s own pulp mills in Finland. According to UPM, its BioVerno biodiesel will decrease vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%.

Finland’s target is to increase the share of biofuels in transport fuels to 20% by the year 2020. The annual production of UPM’s biorefinery will contribute about a quarter of Finland’s biofuel target.

Source: UPM