Tall oil from the forest to become fossil-free biofuel for domestic aviation

“The forestry industry is key to a successful transition from today’s fossil-based economy to a future bioeconomy. As a major forest owner, with associated industries, it is natural for us to take a more active role in the development of the fuels of the future. This broadens our business and establishes SCA as a player in biofuels processing,” says Mikael Källgren, President Renewable Energy at SCA.

SCA and St1 have previously entered into a partnership with the aim of investing in large-scale production of biofuels at a new facility in conjunction with St1’s existing operations in Gothenburg. Under the auspices of this project, around SEK 2.5 billion has been invested in a new biorefinery with the capacity to produce 200,000 tonnes of liquid biofuel.

The new plant is expected to be operational in 2023 and will produce renewable diesel (HVO) and fossil-free aviation fuel, among other things.

“We’ll now be able to work further along the value chain with our own pine oil, which is a residual product from the production of sulphate pulp at several of our factories. This allows us to create more benefits from a larger proportion of our renewable bio-raw materials from the forest,” says Källgren.

Källgren believes that the global sustainability trend and increased focus on sustainability suggest that the market for biofuels will grow.

“Society as a whole is in a formative stage in which we have begun to phase out fossil fuels and the pressure to achieve more sustainable transport is increasing. Naturally, this affects demand for biofuels and opportunities for private motorists, road-freight, and the entire aviation sector to move away from fossil fuels,” says Källgren.

Aviation's new fuel – tall oil

Production will start at a biorefinery that SCA and St1 jointly own in 2023, where tall oil from the forest will become fossil-free biofuel for domestic aviation. The partnership between SCA and St1 aims to produce biofuels at scale. The forestry industry is key to a successful transition from today’s fossil-based economy to a future bioeconomy.