Company
Green Fuel Nordic Oy
Green Fuel Nordic Oy is a biorefining company based in Finland. Our business model is based on utilising innovative, commercially used pyrolysis technology in the production of an advanced bio-oil. We use renewable, domestic forest biomass as our resource, which opens a new refinement path for this precious forest fortune.
Using existing technology speeds up the commencement of refinery operation and starting commercial bio-oil production, also allowing for distributed energy production. Green Fuel Nordic plans to build multiple Finnish bio-oil refineries close to the resource in the near future. At the same time, our company strives to achieve the goals set for Finnish renewable energy production while helping boost energy self-sufficiency
With our chosen technology, renewable domestic forest biomass can be prepared into liquid, low-carbon and sulphur-free bio-oil.
Bio-oil can be harnessed directly for industrial and municipal electricity and heat production to replace light and heavy fuel oil and gas.
Bio-oil can also be refined into products equivalent to regular transport fuels. In addition, the chemicals industry offers interesting longer-term applications.
GFN Lieksa Oy
…is a Green Fuel Nordic subsidiary building a bio-oil refinery in the Kevätniemi industrial area in Lieksa.
The Lieksa-based company will produce the bio-oil, with parent company Green Fuel Nordic Oy responsible for sales, marketing and product development. The raw materials for the bio-oil refinery consist of sawmill by-products and biostem. The annual production capacity of the refinery is 24,000 tons of bio-oil.
The GFN Lieksa bio-oil refinery is located in the town of Lieksa, in Lieksan Teollisuuskylä Oy’s Kevätniemi industrial area. From GFN Lieksa’s point of view, the Kevätniemi area offers an ideal location for a bio-oil refinery. The same area can also be utilised for continued investments, both in bio-oil production and further refinement.
The GFN Lieksa Oy bio-oil refinery uses approximately 90,000 k-m3 of raw material per year, refined into 24,000 tons of bio-oil. GFN Lieksa Oy’s goal is to increase production capacity in Lieksa’s Kevätniemi industrial area while staying within the regulatory constraints.
Our Business Rationale
Mission
To provide an efficient, local alternative to fossil fuels. We are a pioneer in refining advanced biofuels.
Viability is a basic requirement for long-term business. By offering a competitive, local and sustainable fossil fuel alternative, we help build a financially and ecologically sustainable future for both our customers and the society.
Locality means we practice distributed energy production. Along with the ecological advantages, this means more jobs and improved well-being in areas we operate in.
We improve our own competitiveness by always being on the bleeding edge of advanced biofuel development, from resource acquisition to the end product.
Values
The mission of Green Fuel Nordic is accomplished through our values.
1. Understanding
- We are experts, creating information and technology for the benefit of the whole world. We always strive to understand more, which is why we constantly look for more knowledge and expertise.
- When you’re curious, you keep moving forward.
2. Ecological thinking
- Our raw material is sourced from industry by-products and wood unused by other branches of the forest industry — such as first round thinning wood which we refer to as biostem. We refine our products as extensively as possible, conserve the environment, and create new jobs along with increased value for the forests.
3. Trailblazing
- We want to make the world a better place. This is achieved through continuous development of our product, and fresh innovations that truly benefit industry, suppliers, forest owners, and consumers alike.
4. Trust
- We are trustworthy and reliable as a business partner, employer, and social actor alike. We always keep our word and carry our share of responsibility in common issues.
Our values guide all our activity and decision-making.
Vision
We are an internationally recognised refiner and distributor of bio-products.
Strategy
Our strategy outlines how to realise our vision. The Green Fuel Nordic strategy consists of six main categories:
1. Controlled and efficient growth
2. The most effective bio-refinery projection in cooperation with technology suppliers
3. Top level expertise in bio-oil plant operation
4. Competitive and sustainable resource acquisition
5. Competitive alternative for industrial energy production, with strategic long-term partnerships
6. Commercialisation of new applications for liquid bio-oil
Production Technology
The heart of the bio-oil refinery focused around fast pyrolysis is the pyrolysis unit, where pre-treated biomass is turned into bio-oil. Biomass pre-treated to the correct particle size and moisture level is fed to the reactor together with hot (approximately 500 degrees Celsius) sand, causing the biomass to vaporise. Vaporisation occurs in nearly oxygen-free conditions to prevent combustion.
The resulting gas is directed into a cyclone, where sand and carbon residue are mechanically separated from the gas flow. The gas passes through the cyclone into a condenser, where it cools down and condenses into bio-oil. Finally, the resulting bio-oil is filtered before it exits the pyrolysis unit.
The energy for the production comes from carbon residuals from the vaporisation, separated with the circulating sand and burnt in the combustion chamber. Smoke gases generated in the burning process are directed through a steam boiler into a pipe equipped with a purifier. Heat energy for drying the raw material is obtained via process steam.
Before the pyrolysis unit, the biomass is processed into the required particle size and moisture volume. Received raw material is refined by removing impurities and screening. A belt dryer is used for the drying process, utilising the heat energy from the hot smoke gases generated by the pyrolysis unit.
The filtered bio-oil prepared by the pyrolysis unit is directed to a storage tank for quality assurance.
A Sensible Option
The need to build a society less reliant on carbon and fossil-based energy sources increases demand for e.g. renewable biofuels.
This strong trend is also one of the main driving forces behind Green Fuel Nordic’s business operations in bio-oil refinement. Another major factor is the decision to utilise existing, commercially certified technology.
Domestic Advanced Bio-Oil
With the chosen technology, renewable domestic forest biomass is prepared into sulphur-free, liquid advanced bio-oil. The sustainably maintained and widely certified Finnish forests grow by more than 100 million cubic metres a year. Approximately 50 million cubic metres of wood is used industrially per year. However, sustainable use would allow 70 to 75 million cubic metres to be utilised annually.
As such, there is no shortage of forest biomass suitable for bio-oil production, especially since the traditional forest industry is not increasing its use of wood in Finland. Pyrolysis technology also allows for by-products from the rest of the sawmill and pulp industries to be used as a resource.
Our planned biorefinery investments improve energy self-sufficiency while supporting distributed energy production, which is strategically important for Finland. Our operation also provides support in achieving the RES goal set for Finland. At the same time, we do our part to boost employment in areas adversely affected by the forest industry’s restructuring and provide a new local refinement path for forest biomass.
The storage and transport capabilities of GFN bio-oil facilitate flexible energy distribution.
Our product can be harnessed directly as an industrial resource in both electricity and heat production, as a replacement for light and heavy fuel oil and gas. In addition, e.g. the use of bio-oil to power diesel engines of ships is emerging as another application.
Bio-oil can also be refined into products equivalent to regular transport fuels. In addition, the chemicals industry offers interesting longer-term applications.
The World is Changing
Our society’s dependence on depleting, non-renewable fossil resources and the resulting climate change are major driving forces behind political, social, and economic development.
Transitioning to a low-carbon economy is one of the strong global megatrends of our time. Reducing energy consumption and replacing fossil resources with renewable materials are crucial steps on the path to realizing this development.
The aspiration to reduce energy consumption is an extreme challenge. The energy requirements of developing economies increase as industrialisation grows and people become wealthier, resulting in increased consumption. As the population continues to grow, food becomes scarcer and more expensive. Environmental damage and industrial use of the materials in the food chain are partial causes of food shortage.
The dependence on fossil oil is related to its use not only as an energy source and transport fuel, but also as raw material for chemical products such as plastics.
The scarcity of cost-efficient fossil oil increases its cost. At the same time, new biofuels become more competitive and we see progression in the development work to utilise them in energy production and e.g. the chemicals industry. The competitiveness of the new fuels is also boosted by their CO2-neutral nature, which means no CO2 emission allowances are required.
This progression opens new business opportunities to open-minded, responsible businesses whose operations are based around, for example, the development of technologies using innovative and renewable raw materials or the commercial adoption of such technologies.
Why Build Bio-Refineries in Finland?
The European Union’s will to fight climate change has led to several directives and incentives to guide the actions of their member countries.
One example of these is the goal to increase the use of renewable energy sources in Finland. These stimuli open attractive business opportunities for renewable bio-oil in Finland and the rest of Europe.
Finland’s growing forest resources also serve to promote it as a viable location for biorefineries. The growth of well-maintained forests significantly exceeds the industrial usage of sustainably usable wood. The restructuring difficulties of the traditional forest industry free up even more wood for new applications - as a resource for biorefineries, for example.
Stronger Energy Self-Sufficiency
The bio-oil refinery investments planned by Green Fuel Nordic will improve energy self-sufficiency while supporting distributed - i.e. located near the resource and end use - energy production, which is strategically important for Finland.
Improved energy self-sufficiency also improves trade balance thanks to reduced fossil oil importing. In the future, bio-oil is also planned to be used as a raw material for chemical export products, for example.
Creating Future Industry Jobs
In the short term, the planned bio-oil refineries will improve employment in areas adversely affected by the forest industry restructuring. In the longer term, they will provide new industry jobs all over Finland.
Bio-industry jobs will be a direct and indirect source of well-being in the future, both locally and nationally. In addition, the bio-oil refineries will open a new local refinement path for forest biomass.
New Innovation Environment
The bio-oil plant investments planned by Green Fuel Nordic also facilitate the development of, for example, mechanical engineering technology to support the needs of the refineries. All-new solutions may also be found for resource logistics. In addition, these innovations may become Finnish exports in the future.
An R&D focused, multi-disciplinary innovation network can also be developed around the world-class bio-oil refineries.
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