UPM to discontinue Rotterdam biofuels refinery project

Following what it says is “extended technical, commercial and strategic evaluations”, Finland-based biomaterials firm UPM is discontinuing the development of its potential second biomass-to-fuels refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. The planned 500,000-tonne/year biorefinery also included potential renewable chemicals output. Now, UPM has halted all engineering work related to the capex investment in Rotterdam and withdrawn from all site-related commitments associated with the Rotterdam investment, it adds.

Instead UPM is evaluating the potential to debottleneck the Lappeenranta Biorefinery  to capture low capex expansion opportunities and further leverage the strong market performance of CTO-derived biofuels. The refinery is producing 130,00 tonnes/year of biofuels.

At the same time, UPM says it will continue to seek growth in biofuels by advancing the development of proprietary technologies enabling the extension of feedstock options to other forms of competitive and sustainable biomass and the 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,” says Harald Dialer, Executive Vice President, UPM Biorefining and Technology.

UPM adds it is focusing targeted growth areas in its biofuels business:

• Enabling the qualification of CTO-derived UPM biofuels as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This strategic direction is supported by successful SAF trials conducted with Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft using Austro Engine propulsion, and by continued progress in the technical acceptance process at the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), where results from trials and stakeholder reviews have been consistently positive.
• Continuing feedstock technology development to qualify and enable the use of additional competitive and sustainable biomass, supporting the cost-efficient production of high-quality biofuels for both road and aviation applications.

“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,” continued Dialer.