UPM-Biofore-Magazine-2-2019

are expected anytime soon. There are strong indications that bio-jet fuel quotas are likely to become instituted sooner. As the first country in the world to adopt a bio-jet fuel quota, Norway requires that at least 0.5% of all jet fuel used must be bio-jet fuel from 2020 onwards. The quota will be raised to 30% over a period of ten years. Similar quotas are planned by Sweden, Finland, Spain and France. SkyNRG anticipates that quotas will become commonplace over the next five years. Even so, it will remain impossible to reach the emission targets without political will. “It is difficult to achieve the targets for renewable bio-jet fuel without public support measures, especially when governments support other transport modes directly and fossil fuels are backed up by deep-rooted structural support,” states Maarten van Dijk , CEO at SkyNRG.

Multi-billion market Approximately 280 million tonnes of jet fuel are consumed annually. The ICAO predicts this figure will almost triple to 852 million tonnes by 2050. In order to reach the ICAO’s emissions reduction target, half of this amount must be bio-jet fuel. Van Dijk estimates that the annual consumption of bio-jet fuel will reach at least 200 million tonnes, even if all other emissions reduction measures exceed expectations. Amere 1% share of the bio-jet fuel market is worth billions of euros. There are many operators eager to seize their share of the market, including diesel producers, fuel suppliers, technology enterprises and airlines —United Airlines, British Airways and KLMhaving already made sizeable investments in bio-jet fuel. With bio-jet fuel set for a speedy take-off, biofuel producers and technology enterprises should hurry to the boarding gate – a golden opportunity awaits. 

High ambitions for new biorefinery UPM Biofuels biorefinery does not currently supply to the aviation sector – but bio-jet fuel plays a big role in plans for UPM’s forthcoming second biorefinery slated for the city of Kotka. The envisaged next-generation biorefinery would produce approximately 500,000 tonnes (five times the production volume of the Lappeenranta biorefinery) of advanced biofuels for transport and biofeedstock for the chemical industry. The plan is to use wide raw material base, i.e. solid and liquid waste and reject fractions at the biorefinery, which is set to be substantial in size, even on a Europe-wide scale. Other raw materials used at the plant would include solid biomass and Brassica carinata, a sustainable oil plant that sequesters and stores carbon in the soil. Technical and commercial feasibility studies are currently underway for the Kotka biorefinery. replaced by sustainable biofuels. This creates demand, to which the industry will respond by creating supply. This starts a positive cycle that contributes to slowing down the rate of climate change,” explains Maiju Helin , Head of Sustainability and Market Development at UPM Biofuels and UPM’s representative in international aviation forums planning emissions reductions. “As a result of biomandates, a certain percentage of fossil fuels must be

Flying responsibly UPM’s production is spread across various continents, and the company has over 19,000 employees and customers in 110 countries. With such far-flung operations, UPM personnel have no choice but to travel by air. Last year, flights by personnel generated 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is comparable to the annual emissions of approximately 1,000 Finns. UPM’s air travel levels have remained relatively constant over the last few years. The number of flights taken by UPM employees dropped dramatically 15 years ago with the introduction of e-meeting applications. E-conferencing tools have long been the first choice for all cross-border meetings. Employees travel only when absolutely unavoidable. In compliance with its brand promise, Beyond Fossils, UPM constantly endeavours to reduce its emissions and to manufacture products that replace fossil fuels. In Finland, the company’s sustainably managed forests sequester 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. In Uruguay, UPM has created a 40-million-tonne carbon stock from scratch by establishing eucalyptus plantations.

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