Fuel producers in Finland are launching a line of bio-refinery plants to increase the bio-fuel production for transportation needs.
The country currently hosts bio-refinery projects worth €1bn that are under different stages of developments, reported Investineu.com.
The bio-refinery projects saw a steep growth in the country in the wake of European Union’s Energy Directive that mandates at least 10% of renewable energy usage for traffic by 2020.
According to Finland-based VTT Technical Research Centre, with these projects, the bio-ethanol production capacity of the country will increase to about 1 million tons per annum.
It will cover nearly 12%-20% total traffic fuel requirement of the country.
The energy companies that have initiated these projects in the Scandinavian nation include St1, Green Fuel Nordic, Vapo, Fortum and UPM.
St1 has outlined the development of a cluster of bio-ethanol production plants in the country, expecting to reach an annual capacity of 300 million liters by the year 2020.
The company’s first plant of the plan in Kajaani, northern Finland, is likely to begin production of ethanol from sawdust in 2015.
In addition, Finnish state-owned energy company Vapo has secured funds of €88.5m for the construction of a biodiesel plant in Kemi.
Also, Green Fuel Nordic has commenced the construction of a bio-refinery in Iisalmi, eastern Finland, to produce liquid, low-carbon and sulfur-free bio-oil from renewable forest-based biomass.