Sweden-based companies Södra and Statkraft have decided to invest in a new demo facility for fossil-free fuel. The investment will be made through the joint company Silva Green Fuel AS, in partnership with technology provider Steeper Energy Aps and Norwegian financing partner Enova. The total investment will be approximately SEK 500 million. 

The biofuel will be based on forest raw material and the demo facility is expected to be in operation by spring 2019.

The demo facility will be located in Tofte, Norway, and project planning will commence in the winter. Startup is planned for spring 2019, with a capacity of about 4,000 liters per day. The raw material will consist of residual products from the forest industry.

"This is a milestone decision. The forest offers enormous potential when it comes to finding new and sustainable solutions for products that were previously confined to fossil raw material. Södra has expert knowledge in forests and industrial processes to extract high-quality products from forest raw material, while Statkraft is specialized in energy. This is a strong combination," said Catrin Gustavsson, head of Södra Innovation and New Business.

The demo facility is a first step towards a full-scale facility. It will be used to develop both the process and the technology for producing the new biofuel. In the next stage, the plan is to establish a full-scale facility, with biofuel production for various types of transport, including road and air.

 

 

"With a commercial facility in place in the future, we can enable large volumes of biofuel. At the same time, any future decisions regarding the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive – on how energy from renewable sources should be promoted – must support these types of investment in biofuel production. Södra is following several paths for the development of biofuel, in particular, and this represents another step forward towards a fossil-free future," said Christen Grønvold-Hansen, project director for the demo facility at Södra.

Södra and Statkraft formed the joint venture Silva Green Fuel AS in 2015, with the aim of establishing future production of biofuels based on forest raw material. Statkraft owns 51%  and Södra owns 49% of the company

Founded in 1938, Södra is Sweden’s largest forest-owner association, with more than 50,000 forest owners as its members. It conducts modern and responsible forestry, and industries in which it processes the raw material. 

Statkraft is an international hydropower company, the largest renewable energy provider in Europe and the fourth-largest electricity producer in Sweden. The group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, and gas power, and supplies district heating. Statkraft has 3,800 employees in 16 countries.