Forest BTL progresses with new BtL plant in Finland

Forest BtL Oy is developing a new biomass-to-liquid (BtL) plant on Ajos Island, Finland.

The facility will utilise wood and by-products from the wood processing industry to produce approximately 140,000 tonnes of biodiesel and naphtha.

The project is supported by the European Union NER300 funding programme for innovative renewable energy technologies.

The front-end engineering and design (FEED) of the new plant will be carried out by project management, engineering and construction firm Technip after it was awarded a €5 million contract.

Under the contract, Technip will develop the process design package of the hydrogen production unit of the plant, based on its steam reformer technology, and will prepare the FEED for the hydrogen production, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and refining units.

Technip says the contract will be executed at its France-based operating centre together with the group's hydrogen technology centre in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands. It is scheduled for completion in 2014.