Kompānijas Neste un Stora Enso apvienojušas spēkus, lai ķopīgi strādātu pie jaunas paaudzes biodegvielas ražošanas uzsākšanas no koksnes atliekām

"Neste Oil signed an agreement today with Stora Enso, an integrated paper, packaging, and forest products company, to join forces to develop technology for producing new-generation biofuels from wood residues to replace fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gases. The first step will be to design and build a demonstration plant at Stora Enso's Varkaus Mill in Finland. The plant, owned on a 50/50 basis by the two companies, is expected to start up in 2008 and will produce heat and electricity for use locally and crude biodiesel to be refined into commercial fuel at Neste Oil's refinery in Porvoo.
Expertise from Neste Oil, Stora Enso, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland will be utilized to implement the development phase and commercialize wood-based biofuel production. Neste Oil and Stora Enso see the growing biofuel market in Europe as a promising and sustainable business opportunity for meeting the increasing demand for premium-quality products made from a wide variety of feedstocks. The challenges related to generation of clean synthesis gas from wood will need to be solved before wood-based biomass can be used in biofuel production. The project will also focus on using Fischer-Tropsch process to produce crude biodiesel from gas.
The EUR 14 million demonstration plant will be integrated into the energy infrastructure of the Varkaus Mill, and the gas produced will equal the energy needed to heat 4,300 homes and cut local carbon dioxide emissions significantly.
Following the development phase and completion of the technical solutions, and after the partners have gained sufficient experience from the demonstration plant, the joint venture will build a full-scale commercial production plant at one of Stora Enso's mills. This facility will be owned on a 50/50 basis by the JV partners.
Stora Enso will be responsible for supplying wood biomass and utilizing heat generated. Wood biomass will be supplied from forests according to ecological preconditions. Neste Oil's responsibility will final refining and marketing of the biofuel.
The European Union has set a target of replacing 5.75% (18 million tons) of the fossil fuels used in transportation with biofuels by 2010 and 10% by 2020, This will mean replacing 30 million tons of fossil fuels and will require significant increases in biofuel production.
Developing wood-based biofuels is a logical step for Neste Oil and underpins the company's strategic goal of producing high-quality traffic fuels from a broad base of feedstocks. The project is designed to complement Neste Oil's biofuel portfolio. The company is currently commissioning its first plant to produce 170,000 t/a of NExBTL Renewable Diesel, a high-quality fuel offering excellent engine performance and low tailpipe emissions, from vegetable oil and animal fat at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. A second similar plant is also under construction at Porvoo."

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