Pure, sustainable renewable energy

Forests and wood-based products have a unique ability to bind and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Wood-based products can be recycled and used for renewable energy at the end of their life cycles.

Energy is the final use for wood

Metsä Group uses wood raw material resource-wisely and energy-efficiently. “We aim to use as little biomass as possible, as effectively as possible. This enables us to manufacture more end products using less raw materials, and to reduce the environmental effects in the process,” says Ilkka Latvala, SVP, Energy at Metsä Group.

“It’s smart to use the various parts of trees primarily for materials, then recycle them and not burn them until the final stage of recycling. This ensures that wood can be used multiple times as a material before it’s used for energy,” Latvala adds.

The valuable wood raw material is always used where it’s most beneficial. It’s smart to use the various parts of trees primarily for materials. Energy is the final use for wood.

ILKKA LATVALA | METSÄ GROUP

Renewable energy from side streams

Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill produces wood-based energy from it's side streams, such as black liquor, bark and sawdust. These are mainly used for electricity and heat.

Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill is more than self-sufficient in electricity. “Our mills produce more renewable energy than we need, meaning that we also produce energy to meet the needs of society,” says Ilkka Latvala.

An optimally energy-efficient mill

Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill in Äänekoski is a prime example of optimal energy efficiency. The mill uses 100 per cent of its raw materials and production side streams for bioproducts, biogas and biofuel pellets.

The bioproduct mill at Äänekoski does not use any fossil fuels at all. Instead, it uses its production side streams to produce all the energy it needs. “The mill’s self-sufficiency in terms of electricity is as high as 240 per cent, meaning that it produces up to 2.4 times the energy it consumes,” says Ilkka Latvala.

Innovative renewable energy from side streams

In Äänekoski, Metsä Group has invested in energy-efficient, state-of-the-art technology to maximise the production and use of renewable energy. “The mill produces productgas from bark through gasification. This gas is used as the primary fuel for the lime kiln at the mill, which serves to ensure that the bioproduct mill does not need any fossil energy at all,” says Latvala.

The biogas plant of Metsä Fibre, located next to the bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, uses the mill’s side streams to produce energy innovatively. Our biogas plant is the world’s first plant to produce biogas and biopellets from wood-based sludge generated during pulp production.

Biogas can also be used for vehicle fuel. In addition, it can be used as a source of energy for the bioproduct mill, and in vehicles and machines operated in the mill area. Biopellets can be used to replace fossil raw materials in different heating and power plants.