EIB backs Metsa Group’s new bioproduct mill with €200m loan
The European Investment Bank has signed a €200 million loan agreement with Metsä Fibre Oy for its investment in the Kemi bioproduct mill, in Northern Finland.
The financing will support a €1.6 billion investment, which will increase the production volume of pulp and other bioproducts at the Kemi site through new technology. Metsä Fibre has previously invested in a similar bioproduct mill in Äänekoski, Finland, which was also supported by the EIB under the Investment Plan for Europe.
The mill will produce 2.0 TWh of renewable electricity per year, equal to roughly 2.5% of total Finnish electricity production. The energy self-sufficiency of the mill is high and the excess electricity will be sold to national and local grids, making the operation fully in line with both Metsä Group’s and the EIB Group’s climate ambitions.
The parts of the project financed with the EIB loan concern environmental performance and renewable energy generation, for example new recovery boiler and installation of a new condensing steam turbine). The mill will produce renewable energy from biomass with high self-sufficiency, meaning that excess green energy will be exported to the national grid. No fossil fuels will be needed in the production process, and renewable energy in the form of electricity, wood based fuels and heat will be sold to external customers.
