18.04.2017 Corporate,Sustainability

Cortus Energy to deliver renewable energy to Höganäs production

Press release: Höganäs AB and Cortus Energy have today signed a long-term contract for establishing continuous delivery of renewable energy gas and other energy products on a commercial scale. The deal was announced in a joint press release this morning.

– This is an important and ground-breaking step on our way to using renewable energy sources in our production, says Melker Jernberg, CEO. We wish to contribute to a sustainable society, which among other things means that we minimize our emissions of carbon dioxide. To succeed we need innovative solutions that are put to the test in full scale production.

The collaboration between Höganäs and Cortus Energy is still conducted within the frame of Probiostål, a project financed by Swedish authorities, among others. At the moment preparations are made for the building of a 6 Megawatt WoodRoll® installation at Höganäs' plant in Höganäs. Here biomass will be gasified into energy gas.

– The cooperation with Höganäs is especially interesting considering their global business, genuine operations and forward-looking attitude in terms of technolgoy, says Rolf Ljunggren, CEO Cortus Energy. They are at the same time a demanding customer and pioneers within new technology, not only their own but now, with our project, also within renewable energy.

The first step in the project aims at testing the WoodRoll technology under actual conditions and adjust the process to the demands posed by Höganäs' metal powder production. As a WoodRoll® installation gasifies biomass a by-product, so called green coke, is produced. This is also an interesting material for Höganäs as it has potential to replace parts of the coke used as reduction agent in the production of sponge iron powder.

– Our type of production puts high demands on both type of energy and raw materials, says Nicklas Lång, Senior Vice President Sustainability at Höganäs. For us it is an important task and a part of our long-term strategy to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. To succeed it's important that we commit ourselves and resources to investigating new opportunities.

The plan is to start testing the energy gas in Höganäs' production during the first half of 2018. After the tests the installation will start delivering renewable energy products on a regular basis, which means a yearly sales of approximately MSEK 15 for Cortus Energy as of 2019. This will be a break-through for renewable energy gas in industrial processes in Sweden.

Facts / Probiostål

The project Probiostål started in 2014 with a pre-study where both the academia and the industry participated. The purpose was to investigate the possibility of producing renewable energy in commercial scale for use in Höganäs' metal powder production.
Apart from Höganäs and Cortus Energy the following companies have been a part of the project: ABB, Calderys, SSAB, Sveaskog, Södra and Outokumpu.

About Cortus Energy

Cortus Energy (Publ) develops and sells the WoodRoll® technology, which gasifies biomass in a new and innovative way. This results in a number of benefits compared to other technologies for gasifying. WoodRoll® is flexible in terms of fuel, which means that the process can use low-value renewable fuel without compromising with performance.

 

News & media contact

Emma Lefdal
VP Corporate Communications