FINLAND (News release) -- Metsä Group and Fortum, have initiated a pre-feasibility study on the recovery of wood-based carbon dioxide generated as a side stream in the forest industry. Wood-based carbon dioxide from pulp mills and other forest industry production units is an interesting but largely underutilised raw material for various chemical industry products that can replace fossil-based materials. Thanks to the advancements made in recovery technology, the outlook for the further processing of wood-based carbon dioxide is better than ever. The pre-feasibility study launched with Fortum, will be completed by the end of 2023.

"Metsä Group already engages in various measures with positive climate impacts. For example, we offer products made from renewable wood to replace fossil based-materials, we are reducing our fossil emissions at our operations and supporting the robust growth and vitality of forests. However, we want to do more. In the coming years, I believe that technological development will enable us to use a significant share of our wood-based carbon dioxide to produce bioproducts that replace fossil materials," says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.

"Fortum has a strong position in clean energy production and as a partner to industry we want to find solutions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We aim to drive the development of clean hydrogen in the Nordics, leveraging our strong position in CO2 free energy. The Fortum and Metsä Group pre-feasibility study is a good example of cooperation where different industries serve each other by benefiting from each other's business expertise. The end result is a carbon neutral product for the customer," says Simon-Erik Ollus, Executive Vice President, Generation Division at Fortum.

In addition to the cooperation initiated with Fortum, Metsä Group is involved in various research and cooperation projects developing alternative products from the wood-based carbon dioxide recovered at the mills. Among other things, Metsä Group is exploring alternatives for liquefying carbon dioxide, which could be sold for further processing by market participants such as the P2X operators."

Metsä Group's mills annually generate approximately 10 million tonnes of wood-based carbon dioxide as a side stream. With advancements made in the necessary technology, this could generate a new billion euro scale bioproduct business in the future.