VTT Technical research centre of Finland and LUT University have completed a three-year research project on carbon capture and utilisation, which investigated different technologies for producing raw materials for renewable plastic from CO2 and green hydrogen.
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The pilot plant in VTT Bioruukki Pilot Centre, Espoo, Finland that uses captured CO2 to create renewable raw materials for plastics.
Renewable energy, the hydrogen economy and the forestry industry’s biogenic carbon dioxide emissions present significant opportunities for new sustainable industries.
This was highlighted by the Forest CUMP research project of VTT and LUT University of Finland, which investigated how biogenic CO2 from the forestry industry and waste incineration can be captured and converted into high-value-added products, such as polypropylene and polyethylene – the raw materials for the most common types of plastics used in everyday life, production of which currently relies mainly on fossil-based raw materials.
"We investigated through pilot activities and modelling, how the biogenic carbon dioxide recovery chain can be adapted to existing petrochemical plants and the production of key basic plastics. For rapid and significant replacement of fossil feedstocks with renewable ones, technologies need to be adapted to currently existing production facilities," Juha Lehtonen, Research Professor at VTT points out.
The equipment used to separate hydrocarbons is an expensive long-term investment. Therefore, it makes sense to adapt renewable raw material processes to the currently available industrial equipment.
"Our research showed that the low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch process is a technically and economically promising alternative for the production of renewable polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene. We can use Fischer-Tropsch naphtha directly in existing petrochemical processes as a feedstock for the above-mentioned plastics without major additional investments into current petrochemical units, such as distillation and separation processes or steam crackers.
“Producing the necessary hydrocarbons through alternative process routes such as methanol or the high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch process would require expensive investments in production facilities," Lehtonen adds.
Finland's energy and hydrogen infrastructure are in good shape. The country has significant biogenic carbon dioxide reserves that can be used to replace fossil-based carbon feedstocks. Finland's potential is based on large, relatively easily exploitable individual sources of bio-based carbon dioxide, such as forest industry production facilities. These types of renewable carbon dioxide sources are rarely found in Europe outside the Nordic countries.
“The capture of wood-based carbon dioxide offers a significant opportunity for Finland to build new industrial value chains, while simultaneously reducing the use of fossil raw materials. The experimental work and piloting conducted within the Forest CUMP project provide valuable insights into the potential of carbon dioxide as a raw material for plastics,” says Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, the project manager of Metsä Group’s carbon capture initiative.
In addition to a stable, large-scale and year-round supply of bio-based carbon dioxide, Finland's energy and hydrogen infrastructure is well-positioned to support the growing use of renewable energy sources and hydrogen. As we move away from fossil hydrocarbon products, one of the main challenges will be securing an adequate supply of green hydrogen. Going forward, Finland's energy infrastructure provides good potential for large-scale green hydrogen production through water electrolysis using renewable energy.
According to research by VTT, converting 10-million tons (Mt) of biogenic carbon dioxide into renewable products would require approximately 60 TWh of renewable electricity. Finland’s annual electricity consumption is around 85 TWh.
For example, processing 10 Mt of carbon dioxide and 1 Mt of hydrogen would yield approximately 3 Mt of diesel fuel, equivalent to Finland’s total annual consumption. Finland has about 30 Mt/a of large bio-based CO2 sources (over 0.1 Mt/a each), meaning the country already has the necessary raw materials and infrastructure for industrial-scale production.
Instead of focusing on fuels, however, the Forest CUMP project explored the possibility of capturing bio-based carbon dioxide in long-lasting polymer products.
The business ecosystem
The business ecosystem envisaged covers the chain from factory chimneys to plastic products, bringing together business partners and researchers to tackle major future challenges. Borealis, a provider of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions, is one of the companies participating in the project. Forest CUMP is part of Borealis' SPIRIT programme, which promotes the green transition of the plastics industry.
“This significant development project supports the transition to renewable solutions in the plastics industry. In our vision, bio-based carbon can be bound into long-lasting plastic products such as coatings and insulations for electrical cables, various pipe applications, or recyclable packaging products. The route identified in the research makes this technically feasible, but widespread commercial use still requires both increased demand for renewable solutions and improvements in hydrogen-economy technologies,” says Ismo Savallampi, the manager responsible for renewable feedstock research projects at Borealis.
"Finland has immense potential to become a leading European country in the utilisation of biogenic carbon dioxide. Each year, around 30-million tonnes of biogenic CO2 are generated in Finland. If captured and converted into valuable products, this could position Finland as a major producer and exporter of carbon dioxide and hydrogen-based chemicals, polymers, and transport fuels," adds Juha Lehtonen of VTT.
The process studied in the Forest CUMP project can be summarises as follows:
- The research project mapped the entire production chain from CO2 capture to ethylene and propylene production.
- The production chain starts with CO2 recovery, where dilute flue gas carbon dioxide (10-15%) is purified and enriched to about 95% carbon dioxide. The carbon capture technology was developed by CarbonReuse Finland, Ekotuhka Oy and LUT University.
- VTT converted the recovered and enriched carbon dioxide into hydrocarbons, aiming at maximum ethylene and propylene yields.
- Ethylene and propylene are raw materials for polyethylene and polypropylene. At this stage, their production has been demonstrated at VTT Bioruukki using CO2 captured from local flue gas.
- In the future, the technology can be used in places where bio-based CO2 is produced, such as in forestry industry plants.
The Forest CUMP project, funded by Business Finland, is part of the Business Finland Veturi ecosystem, which develops various solutions towards sustainable development and national carbon neutrality together with major Finnish companies. The project started in August 2022 and ended in March 2025.
Leading companies such as Borealis, Neste and ABB, were involved, as well as Metsä Spring, Kemira, Vantaa Energy, Stora Enso, Ekotuhka Oy, CarbonReuse Finland, Fortum Waste Solutions Oy and Essity, with VTT and LUT University as research partners.