In Finland, the planning of the City Refinery, a joint venture by Helen Oy, Lassila & Tikanoja Oyj and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, is making progress. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE) has granted EUR 7.9 million in energy aid to Helen for the City Refinery project where renewable raw materials can be processed from non-recyclable materials and utilised in the heat, power, transport and materials sectors. The City Refinery is planned for Vuosaari.
We are delighted that Helen has been granted aid for investing in the City Refinery. This will give a strong social signal that these kinds of circular economy projects are needed and that we are on the right path,. The planning of the City Refinery is now in full swing, and we are hoping that we can take the investment decision by the end of 2020, said Helen’s Director Maiju Westergren.
Helen is now inviting more partners to take part in the development of the City Refinery project that was announced in June 2019. The objective of Helen, Lassila & Tikanoja and VTT is to make the City Refinery a world-class solution and concept, which can be applied in other cities and which will also strengthen Finland’s position as an expert in the circular economy.
Helen is now inviting more partners to take part in the development of the City Refinery. The objective of Helen, Lassila & Tikanoja and VTT is to make the City Refinery a world-class solution and concept, which can be applied in other cities and which will also strengthen Finland’s position as an expert in the circular economy.
We are offering the opportunity for various stakeholders interested in the circular economy to join forces with us in the development of the City Refinery. We want to develop solutions in the circular economy and bio-economy on a cross-sector scale. We are therefore hoping that more partners will be joining us along the way, said Helen’s Research and Development Manager Jussi Uitto.
Utilise both materials and energy
The raw materials used in the City Refinery are biomass residues from forestry and agriculture and various materials that are difficult to recycle. The end products of processing will be intermediate products that can be utilised in the chemical industry or as renewable transportation fuels.
The City Refinery is based on gasification technology, which binds the carbon contained in the gasified materials in the closed cycle and does not release it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). In addition to end products, the biorefinery process also produces heat as a by-product, which is recovered in the City Refinery and utilised in the district heating network for heating homes.
