Swedish world premiere for a novel automotive fuel from the forest

On Friday September 18, His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden broke ground for the world's first plant for the production of a renewable automotive fuel called BioDME. The plant will be built by Chemrec, a Sweden-based development company, within the company's development unit located at the Smurfit Kappa paper mill in Piteå, Sweden.

The pilot plant is expected to begin production in July 2010 with a capacity of about 4 tons (1,600 gallons) per day using forest residues as feedstock. The plant is being constructed as part of the BioDME project with consortium members Chemrec, Haldor Topsøe, Volvo, Preem, Total, Delphi and ETC. The project is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the EU's Seventh Framework Programme. The estimated cost of the plant is around SEK 150 million (EUR 14 million, USD 20 million).

At the event the full concept of the BioDME project - from wood to wheel - was presented for the first time. Preem presented fuel distribution and how to fill the tank, and Volvo Trucks demonstrated the first heavy-duty truck with an engine adapted for DME fuel.

Volvo is coordinating the BioDME project and will put fourteen DME trucks into operation to carefully study in a field test whether BioDME is a viable option as a fuel for the heavy truck transports of the future.

Preem is also participating in the project by building four filling stations for BioDME to support the fleet test. This is part of Preem's endeavor to increase sales of renewable fuels and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

"We are now on our way to having all of the important pieces in place - production of BioDME, trucks that run on the fuel, and a distribution network. BioDME will have a significantly positive effect on our environment in the future," says Jonas Rudberg, COO of Chemrec.

BioDME based on forestry or agricultural residues is a renewable and environmentally superior automotive fuel. The Chemrec process is used to produce BioDME from black liquor, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry.

In the next phase Chemrec is planning to build an industrial-scale plant. The potential is significant; in Sweden up to half of all freight transportation by road could be fueled by BioDME, and globally well over 30 million m3 of diesel equivalents could be produced per year from the black liquor feedstock available. BioDME produced from forest residues using the Chemrec process could reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by around 95% compared to petroleum-based diesel oil, the traditional fuel used for heavy vehicles.

The BioDME plant will strengthen Piteå's position as a leading location for technology development and the production of renewable fuels as alternatives for transportation and heating.

The BioDME consortium collaboration will lay the foundation for a new energy technology which will have a very significant and positive impact on the environment, the automotive industry, transport technology and the forest industry in Sweden and around the globe.  

Pictures from the event are available at 1330 hours from: http://chemrec.se/photos_biodme.aspx

For more information please contact:

Chemrec:
Jonas Rudberg, COO, Chemrec
+46 70 622 35 71
jonas.rudberg@chemrec.se, www.chemrec.se

Volvo:
Lennart Pilskog, Director Public Affairs, Volvo Trucks
+46 70 318 34 22
lennart.pilskog@volvo.com

Preem:
Helene Samuelsson, Communication Manager, Preem
+46 70 450 12 22
helene.samuelsson@preem.se