EU commissioner for agriculture visits Lantmännen’s biorefinery in Norrköping
European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen and Sweden’s Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren visited Lantmännen’s biorefinery in Norrköping on June 1. There, Lantmännen presented how Swedish grain and residual streams from the food industry can be refined into food ingredients, feed, biofuels, biogas and green chemicals.
The discussions also focused on the role of biorefineries in the EU’s bioeconomy, energy supply, agricultural competitiveness and green transition. The visit was hosted by Magnus Kagevik, President and CEO of Lantmännen.
Lantmännen showed how the same raw material can be used for several products, creating greater value from agricultural resources. The conditions for biorefineries are strongly influenced by EU policy and legislation, particularly when it comes to investments, biofuels, the bioeconomy and increased domestic production of biobased products.
"My visit to Lantmännen was a great example of the bioeconomy in action. Facilities like this show how agricultural resources can be transformed into food, feed, renewable fuel, biogas and bio-fertilisers. This not only provides new opportunities for farmers, but also helps reduce emissions. These are the kinds of innovative approaches that can contribute to a more competitive, resilient and sustainable Europe and reduce our dependencies", says Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food.
Lantmännen emphasized that the biorefinery can produce food, feed and bioenergy from the same raw material.
“The most important thing is to show that we can take in wheat as a raw material and produce food, feed and energy from the same grain kernel. There is a debate in Europe about ‘food versus fuel,’ but that is not accurate. We make use of the whole grain kernel — the protein and carbohydrates are used in different parts of the production process and become food, feed and biofuels,” says Magnus Kagevik, President and CEO of Lantmännen.
Peter Kullgren, Sweden’s Minister for Rural Affairs, also emphasized the importance of Swedish production of bioenergy, biofuels and other biobased products.
“All the energy we can produce in a sound and sustainable way will be needed. Sweden has a head start here, and Lantmännen has worked with this for a long time. I believe the future is bright for the agricultural sector in our country,” says Peter Kullgren, Sweden’s Minister for Rural Affairs.
Facts and further information
Date and location: EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen visited Lantmännen’s biorefinery in Norrköping on June 1, 2026.
Participants: Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food; Magnus Kagevik, President and CEO of Lantmännen; Peter Kullgren, Sweden’s Minister for Rural Affairs; Annika Wäppling Korzinek, Head of the European Commission Representation in Sweden; Palle Borgström, President of LRF (the Federation of Swedish Farmers); Lennart Nilsson, member of the LRF board and President of Cogeca; Alarik Sandrup, Director of Public and Regulatory Affairs at Lantmännen and Chair of ePURE, the European renewable ethanol association; and Fredrik Krook, Managing Director Biorefineries at Lantmännen.
Lantmännen Biorefineries: The business comprises three facilities in Kimstad, Lidköping and Norrköping, as well as hubs in Kotka and Fredericia and an EtG facility in Poland. In 2025, Lantmännen Biorefineries had sales of EUR 320 million and 308 employees.
Norrköping: At the biorefinery in Norrköping, grain and residual streams from the food industry are refined into products including food ingredients, feed, biofuels, biogas and green chemicals.
Ethanol production: According to information from Lantmännen, 31 percent of the weight-based output from the EU’s biorefineries for ethanol production becomes fuel. The remaining 69 percent becomes food and feed, carbon dioxide, biogas and chemicals. Two percent of the EU’s grain production and 1.3 percent of its agricultural land are used for fuel ethanol.
Climate & Nature: Grain grown under Lantmännen’s Climate & Nature cultivation program has up to 45 percent lower climate impact compared with 2015.
For more information, please contact us
Lantmännen Press Office
Phone: +46 10 556 88 00
E-mail: press@lantmannen.com
About Lantmännen
About Lantmännen: Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, bioenergy and food products. Owned by 17,000 Swedish farmers, Lantmännen has more than 10,000 employees, operations in over 20 countries and an annual turnover of SEK 60 billion. With grain at the heart of the operations, Lantmännen refines arable land resources to make farming thrive. Some of Lantmännen’s best-known food brands are AXA, Kungsörnen, Scan, GoGreen, FINN CRISP, Schulstad and Vaasan. The company is founded on the knowledge and values acquired through generations of farmers. By engaging in research, development and operations throughout the value chain, Lantmännen takes responsibility from field to fork.
For more information: www.lantmannen.com
