Work begins on building Europe’s first plant for pyrolysis oil at Setra Kastet
Wood products company Setra and fuel company Preem are teaming up to produce pyrolysis oil from sawdust. The jointly owned company Pyrocell will manufacture raw material for the production of biofuels. Work is now beginning on construction of the plant alongside Setra’s Kastet sawmill in Gävle.
Jointly owned by Setra and Preem, Pyrocell is an important link in the value chain for renewable fuel. Setra has the raw material, sawdust, while Preem has refineries and fuel stations. The sawdust will be processed into a renewable raw material for biofuels at Pyrocell’s pyrolysis plant, ready for further processing at Preem’s refinery in Lysekil.
“We’re extremely pleased that Pyrocell is now moving from planning to the construction phase of our first commercial plant for the production of renewable raw material using pyrolysis technology. The plant will be delivered by TechnipFMC, with technology from Dutch firm BTG-BTL,” explains Pontus Friberg, the project owner and chairman of Pyrocell AB.
“We’re now taking another step in our vision of leading the transition to a sustainable society. This investment is a clear step in the right direction that sees us take full advantage of Sweden’s unique potential for the production of renewable fuels,” says Petter Holland, CEO of Preem.
“Our strategy is to increase the value and the climate benefits of our products, which is why we’ve chosen to focus on the production of bio-oil from sawdust, which can be used as a raw material in the production of biofuels. This commercial processing of sawdust will help us contribute to the goal of fossil-free transport in Sweden by 2030,” says Anders Nordmark, acting CEO of Setra.
Construction work will begin in the autumn and the plant is expected to be up and running in 2021.
The plant will produce around 25,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil per year.
In 2017, Setra was granted investment aid through the government’s Klimatklivet initiative, which supports local and regional measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that affect the climate. The bio-oil is an important step towards meeting the goal of fossil-free transport in Sweden by 2030. The partnership with Setra is part of Preem’s ambition to manufacture 3 million cubic metres of renewable fuel at refineries in Lysekil and Gothenburg by 2030.
FACTS – Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is a process in which a substance is rapidly heated to a high temperature so that the solid material is vaporised and can be condensed into a liquid. Through pyrolysis, waste products from the forest – branches, roots, tops – and sawdust can be turned into oil, which can then be refined into renewable petrol and diesel.
FACTS – Biofuels
In 2017, a total of around 9 million cubic metres of fuel was sold in Sweden, of which just over 1.9 million was biofuel, according to the Swedish Petroleum and Biofuels Institute (SPBI). Around 15 percent of all biofuel was produced in Sweden, with the rest being imported from other countries.
For further information, please contact:
Preem’s press office, +46 (0)70 450 10 01, press@preem.se
Anders Nordmark, acting CEO Setra Group, +46 (0)70 618 19 17
Pontus Friberg, Director Risk Management Setra Group, Chairman Pyrocell AB +46 (0)70 234 18 94
Sören Eriksson, Development Engineer Preem, +46 (0)70 450 11 05
www.setragroup.com/pyrocell
About Setra
At Setra we want to do business where everyone prospers – not just ourselves but also our customers, society and nature. When a business profits everyone, we call that ‘Grönsamhet’. We believe in Grönsamhet.
Setra is one of Sweden’s largest wood industry companies. At our plants, we transform forest raw material into climate-friendly, value-added products such as glulam, planed timber, wooden components and CLT for the global housing and construction market. All our timber comes from responsibly managed forests in some of the world’s best locations for conifers as a raw material. We also sell bioproducts such as bark, chips and sawdust to customers in the paper and pulp industry and for energy production. We have approximately 800 employees and annual sales of around SEK 4 billion. Exports to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia account for about 65% of sales. Read more at setragroup.com
About Preem
Preem is the largest fuel company in Sweden. Our vision is to lead the transition towards a sustainable society. Our two refineries are among the most modern and environmentally adapted in Europe, with a refining capacity of more than 18 million cubic metres of crude oil per year. Our business encompasses production, sales, distribution, trading and goods supply. We refine and sell petrol, diesel, heating oil and renewable fuels to companies and consumers in Sweden and Norway. Around two-thirds of our production is exported. We also have a nationwide service network with some 570 fuel stations for private and commercial vehicles. Preem employs around 1,400 people, 950 of whom work at the refineries. Preem had a turnover of SEK 69 billion in 2017. Read more at www.preem.se