Helsinki, Finland 29 October 2013 -- Metso’s Pulp, Paper and Power business, the future Valmet, will supply a LignoBoost lignin separation plant to Stora Enso’s Sunila mill near Kotka in the south east of Finland. The order is one part of Stora Enso’s EUR 32 million biorefinery project. The start-up is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015. The value of the order will not be disclosed. The order is included in Metso’s Pulp, Paper and Power fourth quarter 2013 orders received.

The LignoBoost plant is to be integrated with the pulp mill to separate and collect Lignin from the black liquor. The new biorefinery will reduce the CO2 emissions of the mill by replacing a significant amount of natural gas with dried lignin fired in the lime kilns. This is also the first step towards the creation of a new business to sell lignin to external customers.

“This investment is a significant step in the transformation of the Sunila mill towards an innovative and customer focused biorefinery. It will improve the mill’s environmental performance and enable Stora Enso Biomaterials Division to step into new markets with renewable solutions based on lignin,” says Sakari Eloranta, Senior Vice President, Operations and Investment Projects, Stora Enso Biomaterials.

“LignoBoost is one of our biotechnology solutions that responds to the growing interest in utilizing bio-based raw materials. The technology was originally developed by Innventia and the Chalmers University of Technology. Metso acquired the technology in 2008 in its entirety and has developed it further. We are happy that we have been able to take this technology to commercial scale in our customer projects”, explains Anders Larsson, Director, Bio Materials, from Metso’s Pulp and Energy business line.

The order consists of a LignoBoost plant which will produce 50,000 metric tons of dried lignin per year. This will be the second commercial LignoBoost in the world. The first plant started- up this year at the Domtar Plymouth mill North Carolina, USA.

Stora Enso Biomaterials offers a variety of pulp grades to meet the demands of paper, board and tissue producers. The mission is to develop higher value added bio-based products that contribute positively to our customers by helping them reduce their environmental footprint. The Sunila mill has an annual capacity of 370,000 tonnes of softwood pulp. The mill employs approximately 160 people.

Metso’s pulp, paper and power professionals specialize in processes, machinery, equipment, services, paper machine clothing and filter fabrics. Our offering and experience cover the entire process life cycle including new production lines, rebuilds and services.

As of January 2014, Metso's Pulp, Paper and Power business will serve its customers with an even more focused and competitive approach as an independent, listed company, Valmet Corporation.

Metso is a global supplier of technology and services to customers in the process industries, including mining, construction, pulp and paper, power, and oil and gas. Our 30,000 professionals based in over 50 countries contribute to sustainability and deliver profitability to customers worldwide. Metso’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.