A groundbreaking ceremony marked the kickoff of the construction of a biorefinery in Leuna, Germany. Finnish UPM Group, through its subsidiary UPM Biochemicals, has committed to investing €550 million ($646 million) in the plant that will extract biochemicals from sustainably grown hardwood in Leuna. InfraLeuna is also investing €100 million ($117.5 million) to provide the infrastructure that will serve the new biorefinery. Meanwhile, the government of Saxony-Anhalt also supports the project by granting subsidies worth nearly €20 million ($23.5 million).
The biorefinery is expected to enter service in 2022. It will produce 220,000 tons/year of biochemicals that will be suitable for various applications such as plastics, rubber, textiles, medicines, and cosmetics. The World BioEconomy Forum has named the planned biorefinery The Bio Act of the Year 2020. The plant will use innovative processes to reduce the use of fossil-based feedstock and carbon footprint.
