TechnipFMC and BTG-BTL to build a wood residue-based bio-oil plant in Sweden

In the Netherlands, thanks to a Dutch invention, cars in Sweden will soon be powered by a fuel made from wood residues such as sawdust. TechnipFMC and the Dutch company BTG-BTL based in Twente will design and build a production facility in Sweden where wood residues will be converted into bio-oil. It will be the first plant in the world where ‘green fuel’ will be produced and further processed in a refinery for motor vehicles.

The plant will convert roughly 35,000 – 40,000 tons of dry wood residues into oil each year using a special technology called pyrolysis. This oil is then processed in a refinery to produce advanced biofuels. With this produced pyrolysis petrol an equivalent of 15,000 family cars can be powered per year.

The biofuel is mixed with other types of fuel – biofuels as well as fossil fuels – resulting in a petrol and diesel that is partly composed of sustainable oil. This ensures that it will comply with the European RED II directive under which, starting in 2020, petrol must contain a certain fraction of renewable energy from sustainable sources such as wind, sun, and biomass.