Finnish forest industry machinery supplier Valmet and energy company Fortum are developing a technology, which can help to produce high value liquid fuel from lignocellulose, for example, for transport. Wood-based fuel could reduce the use of fossil fuels.
Previously the companies have carried out a joint bio-oil project, in cooperation with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. As a result, an integrated pyrolysis technology was commercialized and is presently used to produce renewable heating oil, replacing fossil fuels.
The technology is already in use at a plant of Fortum in Joensuu, North Karelia. It is based on Valmet’s process. The Swedish oil company Preem is also working on the project.
Along the good results of the previous project, the companies have moved to larger scale projects. For example, Preem’s goal is to increase the annual use of renewable fuels in transport to three million tons by the year 2030. Companies are expecting commercial results already before 2020.
