Funds awarded to biorefinery

Borregaard, a sustainable biorefining company, has received a pledge for a NOK12.4 million (€1.5 million) grant from Innovation Norway. The funds will be spent on biomass-related projects over a three year period.

The funds come from the government's package of measures for the forestry industry as well as the biorefinery programme financed by the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation.

NOK7.3 million has been granted for the 'High Purity Cellulose' project, which aims to develop a process to produce specialty cellulose qualities for use in advanced chemicals. Another project, 'Green Bonds', has received NOK2.7 in funding. This joint venture, between Elkem and Borregaard, aims to develop bio-based binders for carbon products.

Innovation Norway and the Technology Strategy Board are working together to support projects between Norway and the UK, including a joint project between Green Biologics and Lucite where Borregaard has received pledges of NOK2.4 million in support. Here sugar from the company's Bali technology will be used for the production of bio-butanol for various chemical applications.

'All of the research projects have an environmental and sustainable upside in that the end products are bio-based and, in many cases, replace petroleum-based alternatives, while at the same time do not compete with food production," says Borregaard president and CEO Per A. Sørlie.