Finnish forestry/paper mill company UPM has halted plans for the development of its biofuels refinery at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The decision followed extended technical, commercial and strategic evaluations, UPM said on 27 May.
At the same time, the company said it would continue to develop technologies to increase biofuel feedstock options and also expand its work related to the qualification and commercialisation of crude tall oil (CTO)-derived UPM biofuels for jet engine fuels.
”Renewable fuels and renewable chemicals are the central elements of UPM’s long-term growth in decarbonisation solutions. The Lappeenranta biofuels biorefinery will remain the nucleus of our growing biofuels platform,” said Harald Dialer, executive vice president, UPM Biorefining and Technology.
UPM said its biofuels business would focus on three targeted growth areas:
- Evaluating the potential to debottleneck its Lappeenranta biorefinery to capture low capex expansion opportunities and promote the use of CTO-derived biofuels.
- Enabling the qualification of CTO-derived UPM biofuels as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
- Continuing feedstock technology development.
“We continue seeing strong long-term market potential for biomass-based fuels, especially in Europe, where greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments continue driving the need for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels across transport modes but specifically in road and aviation,” Dialer said.
In addition to producing wood-based renewable diesel, the UPM Lappeenranta biorefinery produces renewable naphtha – called UPM BioVerno – a wood-based raw material for plastics.
Headquartered in Finland, the company’s main markets are in Europe, Asia and North America, according to its website.
As well as producing biodiesel, the company is active in the biochemicals, energy, advanced materials and renewable fibres sectors.
