Joint-venture biorefinery in Sweden begins producing renewable diesel, SAF

The St1 and SCA joint-venture biorefinery was inaugurated by Ebba Busch (center), Sweden’s minister of energy and business. (Photo: St1)

The Gothenburg biorefinery, a joint venture between the Nordic energy group St1 and Swedish forest-products company Svenska Cellulosa AB, officially opened in Sweden April 10.

Following an extensive start-up phase since the beginning of the year, the biorefinery has now begun operations to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, bionaphtha and bio-LPG.

The plant has an annual design capacity of 200,000 tons (approximately 65 million to 68 million gallons) of renewable fuel production. 

The design of the biorefinery brings flexibility to the process by allowing the use of a wide range of feedstocks.

Used cooking oil, animal fats and tall-oil fatty acids—the latter from SCA’s pulp-and-paper mills—will be integrated.

Inaugurated by Ebba Busch, Sweden’s minister of energy and business, the plant marks an important milestone in the journey towards more sustainable energy production.

Busch explained how important the biorefinery is for both Sweden and the EU.

“Increasing domestic biofuel production is important for Sweden and the EU to achieve our high climate goals, but it is also important to increase our ability to produce our own fuels,” she said. “It is quite clear that biofuels are needed—not all transport will be electrified, but all good forces are needed to push Sweden forward towards net-zero emissions. This refinery is a step on the way.”

Located at the St1 refinery site in Gothenburg, the biorefinery’s inauguration signifies the culmination of years of planning and effort, transforming an idea and vision into a state-of-the-art facility.

With an investment of 4 billion Swedish krona (USD$371.7 million) and over 2.5 million working hours, the project has transitioned from vision to reality, poised to revolutionize the renewable energy landscape.

“The Gothenburg biorefinery represents our largest single investment in St1’s history, and a significant milestone in our energy-transition roadmap,” said Henrikki Talvitie, the CEO of St1 Nordic Oy. “It underscores the scale and breadth of our ambition to drive the energy transition. This marks an important step toward realizing our vision of becoming the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy.”

Mikael Källgren, the president of SCA Renewable Energy, added, “This is a historic step for SCA’s renewable energy business and the partnership with St1 gives us the opportunity to create additional value and a greater climate benefit from each tree. By refining our tall oil, which is a byproduct of the company’s pulp mill, we can become even more resource-efficient and contribute to making society better able to transition the wider transport sector. SCA’s total climate benefit is already around 13 million tons of CO2 equivalent, which accounts for about a quarter of Sweden’s territorial emissions, and we are confident that this plant can help increase our positive contribution even more.”

Throughout the project, intensive efforts have been made to map potential feedstock suppliers, fostering the development of a global feedstock supply chain, and establishing strong, long-term partnerships with supply-chain partners.

The St1-owned fatty food-waste recycling company, Brocklesby Ltd., plays a pivotal role in securing feedstock collection.

“I am very proud of the hard work that has brought this project to realization and allowed us to enter operations,” said Helen Ljungqvist, managing director of the St1 refinery. “It’s gratifying to witness the culmination of our efforts, resulting in a robust value chain from feedstock to sustainable aviation fuel.”

The fuels produced at the biorefinery will lead to an annual reduction in road and air traffic emissions by approximately 500,000 tons of CO2, compared to their fossil-fuel equivalent.

All production at the Gothenburg biorefinery will be certified according to the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification System.