New Finnpulp Mill to Be World’s Largest Softwood Pulp Investment
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Finnpulp, Finland, says it will make the world's largest softwood pulp mill investment in its planned new complex in Kuopio, Finland. The total amount of the investment is EUR 1.4 billion. Producing market pulp, the previously announced mill is scheduled to start operation by the end of 2019.
The softwood pulp mill's process has been designed specifically for the production of tissue and packaging board material. The mill's annual production capacity will be 1.2 million tons of pulp, 5% of the global softwood pulp market. In addition, the mill will produce 60,000 tons of tall oil and 1 TWh of bioelectricity to the national electricity grid. The amount of produced bioelectricity to the electricity market is 1% of Finland's annual electricity consumption.
The Finnpulp mill will be the world's largest softwood pulp mill with one production line. It will also be the world's largest producer of crude tall oil, a renewable and versatile raw material for the chemical industry. The new mill will use 6.7 million cubic meters of wood raw material per year. The cost efficiency of the modern Finnpulp mill will be top class, the company says.
The new pulp mill is an advanced bio-production facility and offers the most efficient way to produce bioelectricity, Finnpulp says, pointing out that it will cover its own energy consumption needs, produce bioelectricity to the national markets, and create biogas. The company will not use any fossil fuels. Finnpulp will also investigate the possibilities to produce other bio-based products.
Finnpulp points out that, in its operations, it makes use of a growing global demand for Finnish long-fiber softwood pulp. The demand is further increased by the growing demand for softwood pulp for tissue and packaging board production. Finnpulp's location in Kuopio is optimal in terms of the availability of softwood used in the mill's production. The mill will be surrounded by the most significant forest resources in Finland.
Finnpulp emphasizes that this will be the largest individual mill investment in the forest industry ever in Finland. Automated, efficient, and carbon neutral production technology represents a new generation in the global pulp industry, it adds.
The pulp market is expected to grow alongside the global rise in living standards, Finnpulp says. Until the year 2025, the demand for tissue paper and packaging board produced from softwood pulp is expected to increase some 3%-4% annually due to economic developments in Asia, Africa, and South America. The decreasing amount of recycled paper will impact the availability of recycled fiber and increase the demand for new softwood pulp. Finnpulp will serve this growth, the company notes.
