Metsä Group’s planned wood-based carbon dioxide capture plant in Rauma has been awarded EUR 21 million in aid through the reverse auction organized by Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. In addition to supporting climate change mitigation, carbon dioxide capture would create new business opportunities.

“Receiving this aid is one of the key prerequisites for making the investment. We are talking about building an entirely new industrial value chain, in a market that is only beginning to take shape. The positive decision means that we can continue planning the plant. We are very pleased with the Ministry’s decision,” says Maria Mroué, VP, Communications and Brand, Metsä Group.

In the Ministry’s reverse auction, aid was granted to projects requiring the lowest amount of support per unit of carbon dioxide capture capacity to be built.

In Metsä Group’s project, carbon dioxide would be captured from the flue gases of the recovery boiler at the Rauma pulp mill.

“One of the priorities of the Government’s climate policy is to develop solutions that reduce emissions and capture carbon from industry and energy production. Finland needs leading innovators to develop industrial-scale projects, which in turn will help promote the implementation of more large-scale capture plants in future. The project endorsed by the Ministerial Finance Committee is exactly the kind we need,” says Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala.

Investment decision no earlier than early 2027

The final investment decision can be considered  at the beginning of 2027 at the earliest. In addition to the aid, the investment decision is subject to obtaining an environmental permit, completing the engineering of the capture plant, and securing sufficient market demand. The aid will only be paid if the investment is carried out.

Capturing biogenic carbon dioxide, such as carbon dioxide originating from wood, supports climate change mitigation by replacing fossil carbon. The project would also create new business opportunities by turning an existing side stream into a new commercial product.

The project builds on technology piloted at Rauma in 2025, when Metsä Group worked with technology group ANDRITZ to capture carbon dioxide from the mill’s flue gases. The pilot showed that the technology was sufficiently mature for controlled upscaling.

The €21 million in aid endorsed by the Ministerial Finance Committee would support the planned biogenic carbon capture plant, which would have a capture capacity of 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and estimated investment costs of €70 million.

Metsä Group’s customers would use the captured carbon dioxide in the production of e-fuels. Using 100,000 tonnes of wood-based carbon dioxide annually in a fuel value chain would avoid fossil carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly 30,000 passenger cars.