Norway-headed wood products major Moelven Industrier ASA has revealed that it is investing NOK 270 million (≈ EUR 27.7 million) in an integrated wood pellet and bioenergy plant at its Soknabruket sawmill outside Hønefoss, Norway. The first-of-its-kind pellet project in Norway will use residues from Moelven's sawmills and marks the company's entry into the wood pellet space. Once operational in 2020, the 80 000 tonne-per-annum facility will double the current Norwegian pellet production output.
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Enova SF, a funding agency owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment and charged with supporting the development of energy and climate technology, is supporting the investment with a NOK 66 million (≈ EUR 6.8 million) grant.
Novel energy integration
A unique aspect of the project is that it will the first pellet plant in Norway to be energy-efficiently integrated with a sawmill. A large part of the total investment sum is in a new 24 MWth bioenergy plant that will supply both the sawmill and the pellets plant with energy. The residual heat that would otherwise be lost from the sawmill will be recovered and used in the production of white pellets.
According to a joint statement, calculations show that with this integrated energy recovery solution – the technical details of which have yet to be disclosed – energy consumption in pellets production can be reduced by up to 37 percent compared to conventional production solutions.
We think it’s exciting to pave the way for innovative and energy-efficient production methods for bioenergy in Norway. Initially, we will deliver the pellets to the international market. Demand there is greatest, but we believe that the Norwegian market will follow suite, said Morten Kristiansen, CEO of Moelven Industrier ASA.
To be built on the grounds of Moelven Soknabruket AS, construction is expected to start in autumn 2018 subject to receiving permitting approval from the relevant authorities. Plant commissioning is estimated to begin in late 2019 with pellet production starting in Q1/2020. The pellets will be ENplus certified as well as carry FSC and PEFC sustainability certifications.
Heralding a new direction
The announcement of an 80 000 tonne-per-annum capacity plant by Moelven in Norway, marks new territory for the wood industry group that has also formed a new division, Moelven Pellets AS, for its venture.
For Moelven it is important to manage our timber optimally, and when half of the log becomes fibre products, this is a very sustainable and profitable way of managing the residual raw material, said Kristiansen.
The forest industry sector in Norway has had a tough number of years with pulp mill closures and curtailments. However, Moelven’s new investment signals a different direction for the utilisation of residues from the Norwegian wood processing industry and, by extension, instills confidence in Norwegian forest owners and rural communities.
It is urgent to develop and apply new climate solutions. A lot of work is being done to replace fossil energy with renewable energy carriers. The residual products from Norwegian forests are part of the solution. The technology demonstrated here makes the production of white wood pellets both cheaper and more energy efficient. This is green competitiveness in practice, said State Secretary Atle Hamar.
Enova says that it is “very pleased” that Moelven is innovating in an industry that has faced adversity in recent years.
We will help companies into the low-emission society. Driving technology in the future is important also in traditional industries. The energy concept for Moelven is little tested in a cold climate, and it will be exciting to follow the project into the next phase, said Nils Kristian Nakstad, Administrative Director of Enova.
While projections differ, biomass pellet industry analysts and observers generally agree that the global market for wood pellets is poised for continued growth – how much, how fast and where depending on how policies in emerging markets such as China and South East Asia pan out or if markets in non-energy sectors such as chemicals develop.
Armed with a bullish outlook on the global pellets market, and a concept that provides competitiveness for sales on the world stage, Moelven says that it will “facilitate” the establishment of new pellets production in Norway and the Nordic region. With approximately 80 km to the inland deepwater Port of Drammen, Moelven Soknabruket would seem a good place to start.
Facts
ABOUT MOELVEN INDUSTRIER
Norway-headed Moelven Industrier ASA is a Scandinavian wood processing industrial group that produces wood-based building materials and systems for the construction industry. The company operates 23 production facilities in Norway and Sweden including 18 sawmills of which some have planning mills, three glulam facilities as well as two dedicated wood component manufacturing facilities.
On an annual basis, the group processes around 3.9 million m3 of logs to produce 1.9 million m3 of sawn wood.
