Finnish energy group Fortum is to invest euro 100 million in building a biodiesel plant at its oil refinery in Porvoo, Finland, that will have an annual capacity of 170,000 tonnes. Based on a process developed by Fortum Oil, the refinery will produce a high-quality diesel fuel from vegetable oils and animal fats in a bid to take advantage of the EU biofuel directive.
Construction will start immediately and the plant is scheduled to begin operations in mid-2007.
“We are the first oil company to successfully develop a biodiesel production process and to build significant capacity for it. We are ahead of our competitors and, once the plant is in operation, we will be able to produce considerably better biodiesel products than are currently produced by other manufacturers,” said Kimmo Rahkamo, president of Fortum Oil’s Components business.
