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Pellets & Solid Fuels

Arbaflame poised to start up ArbaOne

Norway-headed advanced pellet producer and process developer Arbaflame AS is ready to start up the company’s first commercial full-scale advanced wood pellet plant, ArbaOne, in Kongsvinger, Norway."We have global growth ambitions that represent a major industrial investment in a Norwegian perspective. Our goal is to build a large Norwegian industrial company - step by step - that will replace parts of today's coal power production,” said Bjørn Halvard Knappskog, CEO of Arbaflame.

Arbaflame AS is ready to start up the company’s first commercial full-scale advanced wood pellet plant, ArbaOne, in Kongsvinger, Norway (photo courtesy Arbaflame).

Founded in 2005, the Norwegian company has developed proprietary technology that recycles biowaste from sustainable forestry to renewable energy. By replacing coal with the company’s advanced wood pellets with coal-like properties, fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be cut by 90 percent in addition to supplying valuable biochemicals as a by-product such as bioplastics, proteins, and dyes.

The first commercial-scale plant – ArbaOne – has a production capacity of 1 500 tonnes of biochemicals in addition to 70 000 tonnes of pellets, which will be destined to the Netherlands.

The completion of our first full-scale factory, which is based on more than ten years of research, development, and testing, is a major milestone for us at Arbaflame. We are looking forward to getting started with commercial production in Kongsvinger and to distributing the first deliveries of environmentally friendly wood pellets to a power plant in Rotterdam. It is a victory for the Norwegian forest industry and its renewable goals that, with Norwegian feedstock produced at our new factory, the power plant in Rotterdam can reduce its emissions by approximately 140 000 tonnes a year, said Bjørn Halvard Knappskog.

Complete green coal substitute

Called ArbaCore, Arbaflame’s “black pellets” have been tested and verified at 15 energy plants operated by nine different companies in Europe, Japan, the USA, and Canada. ArbaCore will be a full-fledged green coal substitute with higher availability than any other fuel in a few years.

The pellets have virtually the same properties as coal, are water-resistant, and have high energy density. The special properties mean that the cost of converting the coal power plant is significantly reduced, which is a great advantage compared to alternative bioproducts such as conventional wood pellets aka white pellets.

With a potential global market of more than 7 billion tonnes of coal per year, Arbaflame plans to build a number of new plants, either alone or with partners.

Our ambition is to contribute to Norway, the EU, and the world reaching their climate goals by 2050, Bjørn Halvard Knappskog said.

The demand for ArbaCore pellets is driven by a strong and fundamental need for phasing out coal and the search for greener replacement products. Knappskog emphasizes that Arbaflame is uniquely positioned to take part in this growth.

Arbaflame is the only company in the world that produces a green coal substitute product that also provides chemical by-products. ArbaCore is a unique and patented product with superior qualities compared to competing products. Our black pellets have advantages in logistics, installation costs, and the chemical by-product, ended Bjørn Halvard Knappskog.

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