Forestry specialist SCA has partnered with privately-owned Nordic energy firm St1 to produce and sell liquid biofuels, the companies announced on 20 September.
The two companies would be equal shareholders of the joint venture, according to the statement, which would itself have a 50% share in the St1 Gothenburg biorefinery.
With an expected total capacity of 200,000 tonnes of liquid biofuels, the new refinery, which was being built in the Gothenburg site, was due to become operational in the second quarter of 2023, the companies said.
Designed to optimise production of renewable HVO diesel and biojet fuel, the facility would use tall oil-based feedstock.
As part of the partnership, SCA would supply tall oil and invest approximately US$68.65M (SEK 0.6bn) into the joint venture, the companies said.
The biorefinery would also be capable of using a wide range of other feedstocks, according to the statement.
“Partnership with SCA is a key element in the implementation of our renewable fuels investment programme and it secures the supply of renewable feedstock materials to meet the ambitious Nordic climate targets for 2030”, St1 Nordic Oy CEO Henrikki Talvitie said.
As part of the agreement, the statement said St1 would also become a 50% owner of SCA Östrand biorefinery, which has recently received environmental permits for the production of 300,000 tonnes of liquid biofuels based on black liquor (a by-product from kraft pulp production) and solid biomass (such as sawdust or bark).
The biorefinery project in Östrand was still in the developmental stage, the companies said.
