To maximise the value of virgin raw materials and pioneer new commercial opportunities, Metsä Group partnered with VTT to identify, screen and evaluate advanced processing technologies for its production side streams.
Key facts
Metsä Group wanted to identify novel technologies for processing sawdust and bark into higher-added-value products.
VTT screened over 60 technology concepts and conducted techno-economic assessments for the most promising thermochemical conversion options using inhouse pilot data and process simulations.
Metsä Group got objective, data-driven validation to support strategic R&D prioritisation and long-term investment planning.
Metsä Group’s products are based on renewable wood grown in sustainably managed Northern forests. The company invests in growth, innovating new bioproducts and building a fossil-free future. Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto is a co-operative owned by more than 90,000 Finnish forest owners. The company consists of five business areas that promote the use of renewable products and develop alternatives to fossil-based materials.
Elevating material efficiency in the forest industry
Across the global forest industry, the transition toward a circular economy has elevated the strategic importance of material efficiency. Traditionally, industrial by-products and side streams have been utilised in lower-value applications, such as direct incineration for heat and power. However, tightening environmental regulations, ambitious corporate sustainability targets and the urgent need to decarbonise industrial supply chains are driving a paradigm shift.
Companies are increasingly mandated to identify technological pathways to transform side streams into sophisticated, high-margin products, such as biochemicals, advanced materials and next-generation fuels.
We greatly appreciated the fact that VTT was able to bring in the right experts for each of these technologies from within their own organisation.
Identifying scalable technologies for massive material flows
Metsä Group generates substantial volumes of sawdust and bark across its production facilities. While these side streams are already utilised efficiently and profitably as renewable energy sources, the company’s strategic objective is to uncover new avenues that extract even greater value from these virgin wood resources. According to Katariina Kemppainen, SVP, Group R&D at Metsä Group, the company set out to conduct a rigorous techno-economic comparison of emerging processing concepts to identify highly scalable technologies.
“One of the main criteria was sufficient volume: we weren’t looking for niche solutions that wouldn’t be compatible with the fact that we produce hundreds of thousands of dry tonnes of side streams annually,” Kemppainen notes.
To leverage specialised concept validation expertise, Metsä Group partnered with VTT to evaluate technologies approaching Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 – representing mature concepts nearing commercial demonstration.
From broad screening to precise techno-economic modelling
VTT initiated the project by curating a comprehensive long-list of potential processing technologies through a literature review encompassing approximately 60 distinct scientific sources. VTT systematically extracted critical data including:
Production capacity
Required raw materials
Process conditions
Operational and capital costs
Operational risks
Emissions profiles.
Following a collaborative screening process, Metsä Group selected three high-potential thermochemical conversion technologies for detailed techno-economic assessment (TEA).
A defining advantage of the collaboration was VTT's ability to supplement external literature with its own proprietary pilot and laboratory-scale data.
“This made the project really cost-effective for the client, as we didn’t have to examine the client’s own raw materials or carry out tests on them, but instead used existing inhouse data,” says Lotta Sorsamäki, Senior Scientist at VTT.
Furthermore, VTT seamlessly connected the client with specialists in the specific technologies chosen for closer scrutiny.
“We greatly appreciated the fact that VTT was able to bring in the right experts for each of these technologies from within their own organisation,” Kemppainen notes.
A data-driven framework for sustainable business growth
During the project, VTT provided Metsä Group with:
Global literature benchmarking and technology screening capabilities
Proprietary experimental pilot and laboratory-scale biomaterial data
Advanced process modelling and techno-economic assessments.
VTT’s multidisciplinary team employed advanced process simulation software, specifically Aspen Plus and VTT’s proprietary Balas tool, to execute process modelling. This allowed for the generation of detailed mass and energy balances, which subsequently formed the basis for calculating the capital expenditures for critical infrastructure. Furthermore, the TEA evaluated the industrial integration potential, analysing the interfaces required to embed a novel side stream plant directly into Metsä Group’s existing mill infrastructure.
The project successfully delivered objective, external validation of novel technology concepts, equipping Metsä Group with a framework for future R&D and capital allocation. According to Kemppainen, the insights will serve as a foundational asset, enabling the company to run targeted operating cost calculations and assess the feasibility of potentially scaling these concepts into new ventures in the long term.
Tiina Landau, Sales Director at VTT points out that VTT’s capabilities extend far beyond the crucial first step of initial concept studies.
“We are equipped to support our clients throughout their entire journey – VTT can support in preparing for an investment decision, develop new IP, transfer our existing IP and set up the necessary piloting capabilities to help them confidently take the next step,” Landau concludes.
