Stora Enso to Invest EUR 10 Million in Bioenergy Project at Enocell Pulp Mill

The bioenergy project will replace the Enocell mill's use of heavy fuel oil with pitch oil that is made from trees, which will allow the pulp mill to run on 100% bioenergy.

April 29, 2022 - Stora Enso will invest EUR 10 million at its Enocell pulp mill in Finland to replace fossil-based heavy fuel oil with renewable pitch oil. This will reduce the environmental impact of the operations and help in reaching the ambitious target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, the main energy sources for Enocell pulp mill are renewable black liquor, bark, and saw dust powder, but fossil-based heavy fuel oil is needed when the pulp mill is started up after maintenance stops or production disturbances. By replacing heavy fuel oil with pitch oil that is made from trees, Enocell pulp mill aims at becoming a site running 100% on bioenergy and, thus, reduce its fossil CO2 emissions by almost 70,000 tonnes annually, which is approximately 50% of Biomaterials division's fossil CO2 emissions, and a significant contribution to achieving Stora Enso's climate targets.

"The investment in our Enocell Mill to end the use of fossil fuels during start-ups and production disturbances is another example of how Stora Enso constantly works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from operations and to deliver on the company's ambitious climate targets," says Roy Antink, Acting Head of Sustainability at Stora Enso's Biomaterials division.

Pitch oil is a pine-based, fossil-free oil that is a by-product of refined tall oil. The investment scope at Enocell Mill includes a pitch oil tank, foundations and leaking basin, pumping house with pumps, unloading station, new pipelines, heaters, and automation.

Work is due to start immediately and is expected to be completed at the end of 2023.

Enocell Mill

The Enocell Mill in Uimaharju, eastern Finland, has the capacity to produce 630,000 tonnes per year of softwood and hardwood pulp. The mill has 336 employees (includes pulp mill and sawmill).

Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper. The company has some 23,000 employees and sales in 2020 were EUR 8.6 billion. To learn more, visit: www.storaenso.com.

SOURCE: Stora Enso