Work has started in the northern city of Piteå on building the world’s first factory for producing biodiesel from pinewood.

The €27 million plant will be the first in the world to produce green diesel from wood raw material on an industrial scale.

Using technology pioneered by Swedish company SunPine, the plant will convert crude tall oil (CTO) – a byproduct of pinewood processing for pulp and paper – into crude tall diesel, also known as pine diesel.

The plant – co-owned by SunPine, pulp company Södra, state-owned forest owner Sveaskog and oil firm Preem – is due to open in a year’s time.

It will produce 100 million liters of tall diesel annually, sufficient to power 100,000 diesel vehicles that travel an average of 10,000 kilometers per year.

“This project is a unique cross-border industrial collaboration that benefits both the economy and the environment,” said Gunnar Olofsson, Sveaskog chief executive officer.

Mikael Staffas, Södra chief financial officer, added: “Sweden’s forests are an enormous energy resource. The breakthrough for tall diesel means we can harness the energy from wood to produce yet another product that benefits society.”

Source: Invest in Sweden

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