St1 Nordic Oy’s Norwegian subsidiary, Smart Fuel AS, has signed a letter of intent with Viken Skog SA and its subsidiary Treklyngen Holding AS to construct a Cellunolix® ethanol plant in Norway.
St1’s aim is to construct a Cellunolix® ethanol plant in the industrial area of Follum in Hønefoss, making maximum use of the existing industrial infrastructure and equipment from the former paper-mill area. The planned production capacity of the plant is 50 million liters of advanced cellulosic bioethanol for transportation, using local forest industry residues as feedstock.
It is estimated that the project will reach the investment decision stage in 2018 and the plant will be in operation by 2021.
”St1 is seeking locations for new Cellunolix® plants in all of its operating countries, Finland, Sweden and Norway. I am glad that our project in Norway has progressed well. This project reflects the great opportunity we see in Norway to produce and market advanced biofuels with an excellent CO2 footprint and to replace fossil fuels in order to meet transportation energy needs in a sustainable manner,” says Mika Wiljanen, CEO of Smart Fuel AS.
The Nordic energy company St1 is a pioneer in waste-based, advanced ethanol production and production technologies. In Finland, the company already has four Etanolix® plants utilising food industry residues and one Bionolix® plant producing ethanol from biowaste collected from grocery retailers and households. The company is also a co-owner and technology provider for North European Bio Tech (NEB), which has an Etanolix® plant in the Gothenburg St1 Refinery. NEB’s first Cellunolix® plant to use sawdust as feedstock will begin production in Kajaani, Finland this year.
“This project marks a milestone towards delivering on our vision to be the leading seller and producer of CO2-aware energy in Norway. We are very excited about the opportunity to cooperate with Treklyngen and Viken Skog in producing renewable fuel from renewable forest residue,” says Thomas Hansen, Director of Renewable Energy, Smart Fuel AS. “We also plan to use side streams from our own biofuel production process to produce renewable energy in order to power the plant, in line with the closed loop approach,” Hansen adds.
St1’s advanced ethanol produced from waste and residues has a uniquely low CO2 balance; it generates up to 90 % lower fossil CO2 emissions than conventional fossil fuels. Thanks to its feedstocks, production does not have any direct or indirect impacts on forests, biodiversity or land use.
“Treklyngen is delighted to be working alongside a strong and skilled company which shares our interest in promoting and producing renewable biofuel. Together with St1, we foresee making good progress in the planning and realization of the project. There is also significant potential for achieving synergies via this biofuel project and the other production facilities whose construction at the Follum site is being planned,” says Rolf Jarle Aaberg, CEO of Treklyngen Holding AS.
Contact information
Mika Wiljanen, CEO, Smart Fuel AS, +358 40 1946 784, mika.wiljanen@st1.fi
Thomas Hansen, Director Renewable Energy, Smart Fuel AS, +47 22 66 56 35, thomas.hansen@st1.no
Jari Suominen, Director Renewable Energy, St1 Nordic Oy, +358 50 5956 780, jari.suominen@st1.fi
Rolf Jarle Aaberg, CEO, Treklyngen Holding AS, +47 977 08 138, rja@viken.skog.no
St1 is a Nordic energy group whose vision is to be the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy. The company researches and develops economically viable, environmentally sustainable energy solutions. St1 consists of two sister groups: St1 Nordic focuses on fuels marketing activities in Finland, Sweden and Norway and on renewable energy solutions such as waste-based advanced ethanol fuels and industrial wind power. Company has 1450 St1 and Shell branded retail stations in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The sister group St1 Groupfocuses on oil refining. Headquartered in Helsinki, the company employs currently 700 people in Finland, Sweden and Norway. www.st1.eu
Treklyngen Holding AS is a fully owned subsidiary of Viken Skog SA, the largest forest owners’ cooperative in Norway. Treklyngen is a project development company with the objective of planning and constructing new forest industry at the Follum site, Hønefoss, one hour from Oslo. Follum is a former paper mill site with strong industrial infrastructure, power and heat supply, and significant land space where Treklyngen is planning several project for realization within 2 – 5 years. www.viken.skog.no