UPM celebrated the official start of the construction of the state-of-the-art biochemicals facility in Leuna, Germany. The biorefinery investment of Euro 550 million is a major milestone in UPM’s strategic transformation.
In Leuna, UPM will produce a range of 100% wood-based biochemicals that enable a switch from fossil-based products to sustainable alternatives in a number of end-uses such as plastics, textiles, cosmetics and industrial applications. The biorefinery is expected to start up by the end of 2022.The investment has been awarded The Bio Act of the Year 2020 by the World BioEconomy Forum earlier in September this year.
“Today marks a new era for UPM’s biomolecular businesses. The biorefinery in Leuna will be the nucleus for an entirely new and high-value growth business and opens totally new markets for UPM with large growth potential for the future,” says Jyrki Ovaska, Executive Vice President Technology at UPM. “Awareness of climate change has increased customer demand for sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products. UPM has committed to UN’s Global Compact’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C and constantly innovates more sustainable products from renewable raw materials. The biorefinery in Leuna opens new perspectives for UPM as well as the bio-economy as a whole,” Ovaska continues.
The total annual capacity of the biorefinery will be 220,000 tonnes bio-monoethylene glycol (BioMEG) and lignin-based renewable functional fillers. In addition, the biorefinery will produce bio-monopropylene glycol (BioMPG) and industrial sugars made from sustainably harvested beechwood sourced regionally in Germany.
UPM’s wood-based products can be used to replace oil, gas or coal-based materials and they perform consistently in established production processes and the existing recycling infrastructure. They will significantly reduce the CO2 footprint of the end-use products.
UPM has already established the project office at the site and is now ready to start the construction phase of the project. The work has continued uninterrupted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with high health and safety standards ensuring safe working conditions.
UPM Biochemicals offers innovative, sustainable and competitive wood-based biochemicals for replacing fossil-based raw materials and improving the environmental performance in various applications.
