In Sweden, the Gothenburg Biorefinery, a joint venture between Finland-headed oil refiner and energy company St1 Nordic Oy and forest industry major SCA, has been officially opened following an extensive start-up phase that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year.
Officiating at the opening ceremony held on April 10, 2024, the Swedish Minister for Energy, Business, and Industry, and Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch explained how important the biorefinery is for Sweden and the EU.
Increasing domestic biofuel production is important for Sweden and the EU to achieve our high climate goals, but it is also important to increase our ability to produce our own fuels. It is quite clear that biofuels are needed, not all transport will be electrified, but all good forces are needed to push Sweden forward towards net zero emissions, this refinery is a step on the way, said Minister Ebba Busch in her inauguration address.
Commenced commercial operations
Following an extensive start-up phase since the beginning of the year, the Gothenburg Biorefinery has commenced commercial operations to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), renewable diesel (HVO), bio-naphtha, and bioLPG.
Located at the St1 refinery site in Gothenburg, the biorefinery’s inauguration signifies the culmination of years of planning and effort, transforming an idea and a vision into a state-of-the-art facility.
Representing a SEK 4 billion (≈ EUR 345.1 million) investment and over 2.5 million working hours, the project has transitioned from vision to reality, poised to revolutionize the renewable energy landscape.
The Gothenburg biorefinery represents our largest single investment in St1’s history and a significant milestone in our energy transition roadmap. It underscores the scale and breadth of our ambition to drive the energy transition. This marks an important step toward realizing our vision of becoming the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy, said Henrikki Talvitie, CEO of St1 Nordic.
Feedstock flexible
The Gothenburg Biorefinery has an annual design capacity of 200,000 tonnes of renewable fuel production. The design of the biorefinery brings flexibility to the process by allowing the use of a wide range of feedstocks.
These include used cooking oil (UCO), animal fats, and tall oil fatty acids, the latter from SCA’s paper and pulp mills will be integrated.
This is a historic step for SCA’s renewable energy business and the partnership with St1 gives us the opportunity to create additional value and a greater climate benefit from each tree. By refining our tall oil, which is a by-product of the company’s pulp mill, we can become even more resource-efficient and contribute to making society better able to transition the wider transport sector. SCA’s total climate benefit is already around 13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, which accounts for about a quarter of Sweden’s territorial emissions, and we are confident that this plant can help increase our positive contribution even more, said Mikael Källgren, President of SCA Renewable Energy.
Throughout the project, intensive efforts have been made to map potential feedstock suppliers, foster the development of a global feedstock supply chain, and establish strong, long-term partnerships with supply chain partners.
The St1-owned UK-based fatty food waste recycling company, Brocklesby Ltd, plays a pivotal role in securing feedstock.
I am very proud of the hard work that has brought this project to realization and allowed us to enter operations. It’s gratifying to witness the culmination of our efforts, resulting in a robust value chain from feedstock to sustainable aviation fuel, said Helen Ljungqvist, Managing Director of the St1 Refinery.
The fuels produced at the biorefinery will lead to an annual reduction in road and air traffic emissions by approximately 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to fossil fuel counterparts.
All production at the Gothenburg Biorefinery will be certified according to International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC).
