Carbon dioxide captured in Metsä Group's pilot project

At the end of June, a pilot carbon dioxide capture plant was launched in Rauma, where Metsä Group is testing carbon dioxide capture from pulp mill flue gases together with the pilot plant's supplier, technology company Andritz.  

Carbon dioxide capture is an existing technology, but has not yet been applied to pulp mill flue gases. During autumn 2025, the pilot plant will test different process conditions that will influence, among other things, energy consumption and the amount of CO₂ captured. The pilot will also provide information on the need for flue gas cleaning and the quality of the final product.   

"So far, the technology seems to work well with pulp mill flue gases," says Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, head of Metsä Group's carbon dioxide capture project. 

As part of the pilot project, Metsä Group is investigating a larger-scale carbon dioxide capture pilot plant in Rauma. The pilot plant would have a capacity of 30 000-100 000 tonnes of recovered carbon dioxide per year. No decision has been taken on the project or the location of the pilot plant. The project would require all technical and financial issues to be resolved. The capacity of the pilot plant would be more than 100 times that of the pilot plant. The pilot plant would be able to capture about one tonne of CO₂ per day.  

Bio-based carbon dioxide is a by-product of pulp mills that is currently almost entirely unused. It can be used as a raw material in the chemical and fuel industries, among others, and can replace the use of fossil raw materials. Carbon dioxide capture does not increase the use of wood in the pulp mill and does not reduce the efficiency of production. 

"The investment in capture is large and the market is underdeveloped, so we are proceeding in stages. The value chains from raw material to finished products are also often new and complex, so close cooperation and understanding of industrial operations is required between the actors," says Pehu-Lehtonen. 

Metsä Group wants its development activities to contribute to the emergence of markets. However, market development is also dependent on EU and national regulation and investment support for the green transition. State aid for the green transition is key to accelerating industrial investment.