Fortum to start supplying bio-oil to a local energy company

PRESS RELEASE 11 October 2013

Fortum and the local Finnish energy company Savon Voima Oyj have agreed on starting a partnership in bio-oil delivery. The newly signed contract will allow Savon Voima to replace the use of heavy and light fuel oil in its heat production with Fortum's sustainable bio-oil. Savon Voima is Fortum's first commercial partner in Finland in the field of supplying bio-oil.

Fortum will start producing bio-oil in an integrated bio-oil plant at its Joensuu combined heat and power plant (CHP) in Finland in November 2013. The bio-oil plant is based on fast pyrolysis technology and is the first of its kind in the world on an industrial scale.

"The production of Fortum's bio-oil, called Fortum Otso®, benefits the whole local area and opens up a new sector in the Finnish energy industry. The use of bio-oil has significant positive environmental impacts because energy produced with bio-oil reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90% or more compared to fossil fuels," says Kasperi Karhapää, Head of Pyrolysis and Business Development at Fortum.

"Moving to the use of domestic fuels also in auxiliary fuels is an important step in our bio energy programme," says Maija Henell, Director, District Heating & Power Generation at Savon Voima. 

Savon Voima will begin using bio-oil in its standby heat station in Iisalmi, Finland, at the start of 2014.

The raw materials used to produce Fortum Otso® bio-oil in Joensuu in Eastern Finland will consist of wood-chips and industrial by-products from the local forest industry. The plant will initially produce around 50,000 tonnes of bio-oil every year, an amount that corresponds to the heating needs of more than 10,000 households. In addition to replacing the heavy fuel oil used at heat plants, bio-oil produced at power plants can also be used as a raw material for various biochemicals or traffic fuel. Fortum has the readiness to add the bio-oil production element to several CHP plants in Finland and other countries.

Development and conceptualisation of the new technology has been done collaboratively between Fortum, Metso, UPM and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The research has been part of TEKES – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation’s Biorefine programme. The project won a special award for innovation from the Global District Energy Climate Awards organisation in September 2013. Fortum is investing about EUR 30 million in the bio-oil plant and has received about EUR 8 million in government investment subsidies for the project.

Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications

Further information:
Kasperi Karhapää, Head of Pyrolysis and Business Development, Fortum, tel. +358 50 597 3177

Fortum

Fortum's purpose is to create energy that improves life for present and future generations. We provide sustainable solutions that fulfill the needs for low emissions, resource efficiency and energy security, and deliver excellent value to our shareholders. Our activities cover the generation, distribution and sales of electricity and heat as well as related expert services.

Fortum's operations focus on the Nordic countries, Russia, Poland and the Baltics. In the future, the integrating European and fast-growing Asian energy markets provide additional growth opportunities. In 2012, Fortum’s sales totalled EUR 6.2 billion and comparable operating profit was EUR 1.7 billion. We employ approximately 10,400 people. Fortum’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.

Further information: www.fortum.com