Swedish company Chemrec AB has completed a $20 million funding round to support the commercialization of a technology that allows paper mills to function in a secondary role as biorefiners.
Chemrec’s technology could enable pulp and paper mills to open up a whole new range of high-value revenue streams, increasing overall profitability. Typical pulp and paper mills produce thousands of tons a day of a liquid biomass called black liquor. Currently this by-product is burned in steam boilers with low energy efficiency for production of steam and electricity.
Chemrec has developed a gasification technology that enables the conversion of black liquor into renewable motor fuels, biomaterials or electricity. The global potential of this is equivalent to over 45 billion litres a year of gasoline–2% of global fuel demand, the company said.
The investment was led by Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF), with support from existing investors, Vantage Point Venture Partners and Volvo Technology Transfer. Swedish company Nykomb AB, which helped develop the Chemrec technology, remains an investor in the Company.
Jonas Rudberg, CEO of Chemrec, said, "Our gasification technology is already proven with two plants in operation and we are currently working with leading pulp & paper firms in the US and Sweden to develop the first industrial scale 2nd generation plants. There is no comparable technology in the market and we have a great opportunity to position Chemrec as the leader in pulp & paper mill based biorefineries."
Henrik Olsén, Partner of ETF, added, "Chemrec enables the pulp & paper industry to also become a "biorefining industry". The technology can easily be integrated with existing facilities and hence represents a fast and cost-effective path towards the large-scale production of 2nd generation biofuels."
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