Metsä Board and its associated company Metsä Fibre to launch pre-engineering phases for three major investments

Metsä Board and its associated company Metsä Fibre, both part of Metsä Group, will launch pre-engineering phases for three major investments. All three investments will further develop the competitiveness of pulp and energy production for both companies, and move them towards fossil-free production.

Development of Metsä Board Husum mill in Sweden

Metsä Board has carried out a prefeasibility study on renewing the Husum pulp mill in phases. In the first phase, the existing two old recovery boilers would be replaced with one new recovery boiler, and the old turbines replaced with one new turbine. Metsä Board will launch a pre-engineering phase for the investment in recovery boiler, which includes, among other things, the necessary regulatory processes, the technical design and a competitive tender for the main equipment. The timing of the final investment decision depends on the duration of the regulatory processes. The investment decision is expected to be made in the fourth quarter of 2019, at the earliest. The capacity of the planned recovery boiler would correspond to an annual production of up to 750,000 tonnes of pulp, in accordance with the current environmental permit. If realized, the size of the investment would be approximately EUR 300 million, divided between years 2019-2022. The recovery boiler would be in operation roughly two years after the final investment decision.

The planned investment in the recovery boiler will reduce the energy costs of the mill, improve the reliability of production and decrease the duration of the annual maintenance shutdown. Own electricity generation, entirely based on renewable biomass, will double and increase the self-sufficiency in electricity of the integrate to over 80 per cent. In addition, the use of fossil oil in the integrate will reduce by approximately 5,000 tonnes per year.

The investment in the recovery boiler would enable the long-term development of the Husum integrated mill. In the second phase, during the 2020’s, the existing two fibre lines of the mill would be replaced by one new. During that period, potential investments to increase paperboard capacity can be based on a cost efficient long-term energy production solution.

Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland

Metsä Board’s associated company Metsä Fibre, of which Metsä Board owns 24.9 per cent, will launch a pre-engineering phase for the construction of a bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland. When realised, the size of the investment would be approximately EUR 1.5 billion and the annual pulp capacity of the mill approximately 1.5 million tonnes. In addition to pulp, the mill would produce several other bioproducts. The new bioproduct mill would replace the existing pulp mill in Kemi of approximately 0.6 million tonnes in annual capacity. The financing structure of the project will be specified during the pre-engineering phase. Metsä Board produces white kraftliner in Kemi. In connection with the construction of Metsä Fibre’s planned bioproduct mill, Metsä Board would make certain own investments in order to ensure the prerequisites for profitable kraftliner production in the long-term.

The final investment decision by Metsä Fibre is estimated to be made in the summer of 2020, at the earliest.

Metsä Fibre’s sawmill in Rauma, Finland

Metsä Fibre will launch a pre-engineering phase for the construction of a new pine sawmill with approximately 750,000 cubic meters of annual capacity in connection with Rauma pulp mill. The size of the investment would be approximately EUR 200 million and the sawmill line, when realised, would be the most modern and efficient in the world. The aim is to increase the utilisation of new technology and data of the sawmill to a clearly higher level compared to existing sawmills. The investment would enable Metsä Fibre to significantly increase the amount of products that store carbon dioxide for a long time.

The final decision on Metsä Fibre’s investment is estimated to be made in the beginning of 2020.

Source

Metsä Board, press release, 2019-04-26.

Supplier

Metsä Board
Metsä Fibre

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