In Germany, UPM Biochemicals, part of Finland-headed forest industry major UPM, has announced another important milestone in the development of the world’s first biorefinery in Leuna. In partnership with DB Cargo, the first deliveries of wood have now been made to Leuna by rail, establishing and testing the direct rail link to the Leuna operations’ wood yard.
UPM is investing EUR 1.18 billion to build the world’s first industrial-scale biorefinery in Leuna to convert sustainably sourced, certified hardwood into next-generation biochemicals – enabling the vital shift from fossil-based to renewable materials across various industries.
The Leuna biorefinery is part of a broader growth area, UPM Biorefining, that is scaling refineries to produce a variety of renewable fuels and chemicals made from sustainable biomass.
DB Cargo, specialists in the sustainable and climate-friendlier transport of goods, is a long-standing partner for timber transportation in the rail sector and has been handling UPM’s paper and pulp freight for several years.
UPM and DB Cargo have been linked by a successful partnership for rail-based inbound logistics of timber for many years. We are therefore very pleased to now be an important supply chain partner for UPM at the new biorefinery in Leuna, said Thorsten Wartenpfuhl, SVP of Sales Consumer Goods, Pulp & Paper, Timber at DB Cargo.
This direct rail link will enable UPM to transport wood sustainably and strengthen local supply chains, increasing the security of supply with critical raw materials.
We are excited to welcome the first rail-based wood transports at our newly established wood yard in Leuna. We will offer fully sustainable renewable chemicals with a significantly better CO2 footprint compared to fossil alternatives, said Andreas Meggendorfer, Director of Supply Chain & Sourcing at UPM Biochemicals.
The DB Cargo delivery, wood handling, and processing activities have started as part of the commissioning and start-up work for the biorefinery.
The first woodchips made of wood from sustainably managed regional forests have been produced, confirming the overall progress made on-site.
It is paramount that we work on strategies to continuously optimize the environmental performance of our products further. Using rail as a transport mode does exactly that. By partnering with DB Cargo, we can now rely on a well-known and capable rail logistics partner and have built a resilient and sustainable wood logistics setup for our biorefinery in Leuna, ended Andreas Meggendorfer.
