A Plant Producing Biocoal to be Built in Joensuu - Project Receives Support from the European Regional Development Fund and a Capital Loan from the Climate Fund

As a whole, it is an investment of around 20 million euros. The ELY Center has granted the project a grant of 3.4 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund. The project is also financed by the Climate Fund with a capital loan of 5.0 million euros.

Joensuu Biocoal Oy is e.g. a company founded by the Taaleri Group, which focuses on renewable energy and bioindustry, with a number of domestic family-owned investment companies as investors in addition to Taaleri.

"Joensuu is an excellent place to develop a bioindustry project. A network related to the sector is being developed in the region and social actors see the possibilities of the bioindustry. Cooperation with the local energy company and an excellent logistical location along the waterway are also particularly important for this project," says Tero Saarno, Director of Taaleri's Bioindustry business.

Construction of the facility will begin in the spring of 2022. Production is estimated to start in the summer of 2023. The planned total production is approximately 60,000 tons per year.

As a raw material, the facility uses the side streams of the forest industry and forest management. About 250,000 cubic meters of biomass, mainly tree bark and first thinnings, are used annually.

The plant will be built on Savon Voima Oyj's site near the Iiksenvaara electricity and thermal power plant. The placement enables synergy benefits when Savon Voima rents equipment and provides services for the plant. In the future, it is planned to build a cooperation group around the facility for product development and finding new uses for torrefied biomass and biochar.

"The location of the bioindustry in Joensuu and on the Savon Voima power plant site is a great example of good and constructive cooperation, where existing infrastructure and know-how are combined with an innovative new bioindustry process. At Savon Voima, we are excited to be involved in creating new things and thereby securing society's transition towards carbon neutrality in this respect as well," says Business Director of Electricity Production and District Heating Juha Räsänen from Savon Voima Oyj.

More information:‍

Tero Saarno
Managing Director
Taaleri Bioindustry
+358 50 373 1923
tero.saarno@taaleri.com

Iiro Tiilikainen
Project Director
Taaleri Bioindustry
+358 44 491 5922
iiro.tiilikainen@taaleri.com