Sekab and Vertoro to build large-scale demonstration plant to produce a new platform for sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials

A new demo plant in Örnsköldsvik will be the first in the world to produce a 2G platform for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, coined GOLDILOCKS^®, from pulp and paper industry residues. The plant will be built by the Swedish chemical and clean tech company Sekab together with the Dutch oil company Vertoro.

“We need to break dependence on fossil oil and with our technology we can use renewable raw materials to replace crude oil based products. This European cooperation is an important step in the development of a fossil-free society,” says Tomas Nilsson, CEO of Sekab.

Sekab and Vertoro have begun the construction of a demonstration facility in Örnsköldsvik. In the plant, biomass, lignin or residues from the paper and pulp and forestry industry will be converted into Goldilocks^®, a proprietary blend of ethanol and soluble lignin oligomers, which is unique in the world. In existing plants, only one type of biofuel can be produced, while bio-based crude oil can be refined into a variety of biofuels, chemicals and materials in already existing oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

Production is expected to start in about a year and deliver biofuel to the shipping sector as a first off take for this lignin ethanol oil product.

“Shipping today consumes over 300 million tons of fossil fuels per annum, which produce large climate-impacting emissions. That’s why we are starting with shipping, but the same technology can be used to produce biofuels for both aviation and cars, as well as bio-based chemicals” says Adnan Cavka, Chief Technology and Business Development Officer at Sekab.

Shipping accounts for 2-3% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. If left unchecked this number would grow to 15% of global emissions by 2050. Considered to be one of the UN’s ‘hard to abate’ sectors, transitioning away from fossil fuels will require scale, investment, and inexpensive low-carbon solutions. Today about 90 percent of Swedish imports and exports are currently transported via shipping.

“Global challenges require global solutions. In this collaboration, two European companies join forces to drive a green revolution in the world by developing a cost-effective platform to produce sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, chemicals and materials.”, says Michael Boot, CEO of Vertoro.

Source

Sekab, press release, 2020-03-09.

Supplier

SEKAB
Vertoro

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