In Finland, Metsä Fibre, part of forest industry major Metsä Group, and Veolia Nordic AB (Veolia), a subsidiary of global waste management services provider Veolia Group, have signed a long-term partnership agreement on the refining of crude methanol generated in pulp production at Metsä Fibre's Äänekoski bioproduct mill into commercial biomethanol.
The bioproduct mill concept developed by Metsä Fibre takes resource efficiency and sustainability to an entirely new level. An extremely resource-efficient pulp mill lies at the core of the bioproduct mill concept.
Metsä Fibre’s unique bioproduct concept combines efficient raw material use with energy and environmental efficiency. In accordance with the principles of the circular economy, production side streams – in this case, crude methanol – are utilised and upgraded to obtain products with the highest possible added value, said Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, SVP, Business Development from Metsä Fibre.
The mill’s business model is based on an efficient partner network, in which various parties cooperate to upgrade new products. The ecosystem is home to businesses of various sizes and at various stages of development, which specialise in sectors such as biomaterials and bioenergy, Pehu-Lehtonen explained.
The concept makes it possible to convert pulp production side streams into valuable biochemicals, bio-based energy and other bioproducts that can be used to replace fossil-based materials and fuels.
Veolia’s project is a concrete example of how our bioproduct concept can be expanded with a new product in cooperation with partners, Pehu-Lehtonen said.
Veolia to own and operate the biorefinery
Developed in close cooperation with Metsä Fibre, the methanol biorefinery will be based on Veolia’s industrial-scale concept of commercial bioproduct-derived biomethanol production.
As part of this cooperation, Veolia has decided to invest in its construction, and the biorefinery will be closely integrated into Metsä Fibre’s Äänekoski bioproduct mill processes.
Veolia’s process safely integrates the refining of crude sulphate methanol into the pulp production process, and the biorefinery will be owned and operated by Veolia.
Veolia highly values how this industrial partnership has been developed based on a common vision to use natural resources more efficiently and create, from existing side streams, new sustainable bioproducts that can replace fossil-based fuels and materials, said Jacob Illeris, Business Development Director Veolia Nordic.
World’s largest of its kind
The project will contribute to European energy security while supporting the European Green Deal decarbonization ambitions for transportation, as the industrial-grade quality carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral biomethanol represents a new source of sustainable low carbon fuel replacing fossil-based fuels.
Our biorefinery project with Metsä Fibre is in line with Veolia’s strategy to develop local energy loops allowing decarbonization and energy sufficiency. It illustrates our capacity to act as an ecological transformation enabler through industrial integration across various sectors to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for locally produced CO2-neutral fuels, commented Estelle Brachlianoff, COO of Veolia.
With an annual production capacity of 12 000 tonnes, the biorefinery will be the world’s largest of its kind when it comes on stream by 2024. If the biomethanol is used as a transportation fuel, it could enable the avoidance of up to 30 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Global potential
The EUR 50 million investment is supported by a grant from the Finnish Ministry of Economy and Employment.
The advantage of our industrial concept is that it is replicable at around 80 percent of the pulp mills worldwide. It has the potential to unlock an additional, locally generated feedstock of CO2-neutral biomethanol for biofuel that could be estimated at 2 million tonnes, ended Estelle Brachlianoff.
