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Biomass availability assessment to support investment decisions

Photo: Erkki Oksanen

Customer

Kokkolanseudun Kehitys Oy (KOSEK) is a regional business and development company owned by the town of Kokkola. KOSEK specialises in business advice and regional development and marketing.

Need

KOSEK is continuously developing new business in the Kokkola region to create new jobs. The region has strong expertise in the chemical industry, as a result of which the bioeconomy is a natural direction for development. In this project, KOSEK wanted to identify whether the 500,000 tons of wood needed annually by a planned biorefinery could be harvested sustainably in central Finland.

Solution

The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) studied how much wood could be sustainably harvested from forest thinnings and assessed the impact of competition on the availability of wood. In addition, it estimated the development of raw material supply costs during the next 10–20 years.

Impact

If implemented, the biorefinery will have employment effects extending over the Kokkola region, as wood harvesting will create jobs in the entire supply area. As the market area for the industrial sugar produced by the biorefinery is in Central Europe, the area impacted by the biorefinery will expand to a continental level.

Funding

KOSEK ordered the calculation directly from Luke as a service.

Customer feedback

“We needed a reliable study conducted by an external party of the sufficiency, sustainability and price of raw materials. Luke is the only service provider in Finland with all the information needed and the credibility required in international markets. This was an easy project for the client. I would easily recommend Luke for similar projects.”
Stefan Jungell, project manager, Kokkolanseudun Kehitys Oy

Luke’s feedback

“All in all, the project was completed smoothly. The project started when the customer contacted us last spring, after which we agreed upon the project content at the kick-off meeting. During autumn, we delivered an interim report and the final report.”
Perttu Anttila, senior scientist, Luke