Sustainable plastics production through bio-based carbon capture in Finland

In Espoo, Finland, VTT (Technological Research Institute Finland) and LUT University, in cooperation with industrial partners, have opened a pilot plant that converts carbon dioxide into high-quality plastic raw materials in an innovative way. This initiative aims to replace fossil raw materials with bio-based alternatives and offers significant potential for the development of a sustainable industry.

The newly constructed pilot plant in sea containers went into operation in August. It aims to convert bio-based carbon dioxide from forestry and waste incineration into products such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Juha Lehtonen, research professor at VTT, emphasizes: “Finland has huge potential to be one of the leading countries in utilising bio-based carbon dioxide.”

Finland produces around 30 million tons of carbon dioxide annually from bio-based sources. Converting this carbon dioxide into high-quality polymers could make the country a major producer and exporter of sustainable plastic products. Lehtonen emphasizes: “The technology creates a significant export opportunity for renewable high-value-added products. Due to its extensive forest industry, Finland has a huge potential to utilise bio-based carbon dioxide. Outside the Nordic countries, large sources of bio-based carbon dioxide are rare.”

The Forest CUMP project is part of Business Finland's Veturi ecosystem, which supports sustainable development. The partnership with Borealis is part of the SPIRIT program, which aims to promote the green transition of the plastics industry. Ismo Savallampi from Borealis explains: “This is a significant development project to support our vision of capturing and utilising industrial carbon emissions by producing long-lasting or fully recyclable plastic products that can sequester carbon for a long time.”

In future, the pilot plant will also be used in other areas where bio-based carbon dioxide is produced, for example in forestry and waste incineration plants. This technological development could not only significantly improve the sustainability of plastics production, but also create new economic prospects for Finnish industry.