Metsä Group on a steady path towards fossil-free mills
Metsä Group aims to have fossil-free mills by 2030. In the Kumppanit podcast by Fimpec, Metsä Group’s Energy Director Pirita Mikkanen discussed how this goal will be achieved and what plans the company has for biogenic carbon dioxide.
The Finnish forest industry has made significant efforts to reduce climate emissions, cutting them down to a fraction of early 1990s levels over the past 30 years. Now, the industry is seeking to eliminate the remaining fossil-based emissions. For example, Metsä Group has set itself an ambitious target: its mills will be fossil-free by 2030.
“We have five years left, which is a short period on an industrial scale. However, we have already made great progress towards achieving our goal. A crucial factor has been that the fuels we use have long been wood-based. Of course, there is still work to be done in areas such as tissue paper production, drying processes, and some energy and process-related aspects. But we already have ideas for all of these,” explains Pirita Mikkanen, Metsä Group’s Energy Director.
According to her, a major challenge in eliminating the remaining emissions is the cost of the necessary changes. Another, perhaps more surprising challenge, is space constraints.
“Industrial mill sites can be very tightly packed. If we suddenly need twice the space to achieve emission-free operations, it’s not always feasible. Or, if we need to replace an oil- or gas-fired boiler with an electric boiler, space can become an issue. At the same time, we must ensure product quality and maintain high operational efficiency.”
New bioproduct mills are already emission-free
However, achieving this goal is not impossible. A good example is Metsä Group’s new bioproduct mills in Kemi and Äänekoski, which have already reached zero emissions.
“This was possible because everything was rebuilt from the ground up. Both mills adopted vast amounts of new technology, new equipment, and innovative technical solutions. Additionally, operational methods changed, and automation reached a new level,” Mikkanen summarizes, highlighting three key aspects in particular.
“Water usage and its efficiency are crucial from an emissions perspective, as in integrated mills (where pulp and its derivatives, such as paper or board, are produced), most of the energy is used for drying. Enormous amounts of water circulate in the process, even though we aim for minimal water use. The less water we use, the less drying and evaporation are needed, leading to lower energy consumption. In these new bioproduct mills, water usage is on an entirely different level compared to older mills.”
“Another unique factor for us is that we use gasified bark as fuel for lime kilns and recovery boilers, whereas most lime kilns still run on oil or fossil gas. Additionally, bioproduct mills are multi-product sites, meaning they operate as industrial complexes with multiple players. This setup is cost-effective in terms of logistics, minimizes material waste, and allows for integrated energy use – making the whole operation highly efficient.”
Carbon capture is on the horizon
One distinctive feature of achieving net-zero emissions in the forest industry is the potential of capturing biogenic carbon dioxide. Metsä Group completed its first study on carbon capture in the fall of 2024, and in 2025, the company will pilot carbon capture at its Rauma pulp mill in collaboration with technology company ANDRITZ.
“The forest industry deals specifically with biogenic carbon, meaning that capturing it can make us carbon-neutral – or even carbon-negative, depending on its usage. Storing carbon dioxide is also an option, but Metsä Group is initially focusing on capturing CO₂ for further processing. The goal is to foster new industries in Finland.”
“We have been quite conservative in our technology choices and have initially explored the amine process, which is the most widely used carbon capture method worldwide. However, we are monitoring developments, as many new technologies are emerging,” Mikkanen explains.
She adds that even the amine process is not entirely risk-free, as it has not been previously tested with recovery boilers. For this reason, the technology will be piloted before making investments worth tens or even hundreds of millions of euros.
The potential applications of biogenic carbon dioxide are also intriguing. While Metsä Group has primarily focused on capture, as it already produces CO₂ as a raw material, preliminary studies have been conducted to determine the requirements for further processing.
“There is still much development needed. The situation is similar to carbon capture itself – effective technologies exist, but a lot of innovation is required to reach a level where we can compete with fossil-based raw materials.”
The future holds new opportunities
Looking further ahead, Mikkanen believes that carbon capture and utilization will offer exciting opportunities.
“The year 2030 is just the first phase, shaped by political decisions that create market demand for production. By then, I believe we will have some solutions in place. Moving forward, newer and more advanced technologies will emerge that require less energy, making carbon capture and processing increasingly viable.”
She sees a significant role for the forest industry in this development, simply because no other sector can provide biogenic carbon dioxide consistently throughout the year.
“We will be an essential part of the value chain, but our exact role remains to be seen. Will we become chemical manufacturers? Will we produce methanol or other chemicals in our bioproduct mills? There are many possibilities.”
Pirita Mikkanen was a guest on Fimpec’s Kumppanit podcast, hosted by Maiju Aaltonen and Panu Rahikka.
Listen to Kumppanit podcast episode 22: How the forest industry is becoming emission-free
Please note that the podcast is available only in Finnish.
