The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization
The production and demand for wood-based fuel pellets has increased considerably both in Sweden and internationally the recent years. Today Sweden is one of the leading nations when it comes to production and use of fuel pellets. Despite the favorable development great challenges wait. The all ti...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | L3 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Forest Products
2008
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571995477934080 |
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| author | Höglund, Jonas |
| author_browse | Höglund, Jonas |
| author_facet | Höglund, Jonas |
| author_sort | Höglund, Jonas |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The production and demand for wood-based fuel pellets has increased considerably both in Sweden and internationally the recent years. Today Sweden is one of the leading nations when it comes to production and use of fuel pellets.
Despite the favorable development great challenges wait. The all time high production of saw mill by-products is not enough to satisfy the growing demand for by-products, resulting in increasing raw material prices and competition. Seen in a historic context, the pellet industry has been characterized by fluctuations in supply and demand and uncertainty about how changes in governmental subsidies and the development of competitive substitutes will affect the situation.
This study presents a broad overview of the Swedish pellet industry. The study had three purposes; to analyze the business situation for the producers, to examine to what extent product standards and environmental certification instruments were used within the industry, and to make an estimate on future potentials and possibilities for the pellet industry.
The study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey to the manufacturers of fuel pellets in Sweden and the results are based on answers from 55 % of the producers, accounting for 86 % of the total production capacity.
The results indicate a rapidly expanding production capacity and at the same time a strained raw material situation. The production increased with as much as 260 % from 2001 to 2007, and the planned capacity expansion totals 708 000 annual tonnes, or over 40 % of the capacity for 2007. During the same period, the competition for raw materials was getting more intense; one third of the producers experience the raw material situation as the largest threat to the production and the majority of firms have evaluated alternative raw materials in response to the increased competition. Among the alternatives examined are for example roundwood and pulp wood.
The majority (47 %) of the production go to small-scale consumers. The greatest part
(74 %) of all pellets manufactured are produced according to the Swedish Standard, but among the small-scale producers the use of standardization is low. More than one fifth of the production is certified according to FSC and PEFC (scarcely 300 000 tonnes). The low degree of certification depends in a first instance on the fact that 53 % of the producers do not use environmentally certified raw materials but ultimately on the low demand for environmental certified pellets.
Today the pellet industry is very dependent on the demand and supply balance for other forest industry products, a dependence that in a future perspective should be abandoned in favor of alternative and forest industry independent raw materials. To avoid the risks associated with overbuilding capacity, a greater share of the Swedish production should go to the expanding international market. |
| format | L3 |
| id | RepoSLU12077 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publishDateSort | 2008 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Forest Products |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Forest Products |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU120772017-11-08T09:19:30Z The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization Den svenska bränslepelletsindustrin : produktion, marknad och standardisering Höglund, Jonas bioenergy strategy biofuels standardization pellets energy market heat sector The production and demand for wood-based fuel pellets has increased considerably both in Sweden and internationally the recent years. Today Sweden is one of the leading nations when it comes to production and use of fuel pellets. Despite the favorable development great challenges wait. The all time high production of saw mill by-products is not enough to satisfy the growing demand for by-products, resulting in increasing raw material prices and competition. Seen in a historic context, the pellet industry has been characterized by fluctuations in supply and demand and uncertainty about how changes in governmental subsidies and the development of competitive substitutes will affect the situation. This study presents a broad overview of the Swedish pellet industry. The study had three purposes; to analyze the business situation for the producers, to examine to what extent product standards and environmental certification instruments were used within the industry, and to make an estimate on future potentials and possibilities for the pellet industry. The study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey to the manufacturers of fuel pellets in Sweden and the results are based on answers from 55 % of the producers, accounting for 86 % of the total production capacity. The results indicate a rapidly expanding production capacity and at the same time a strained raw material situation. The production increased with as much as 260 % from 2001 to 2007, and the planned capacity expansion totals 708 000 annual tonnes, or over 40 % of the capacity for 2007. During the same period, the competition for raw materials was getting more intense; one third of the producers experience the raw material situation as the largest threat to the production and the majority of firms have evaluated alternative raw materials in response to the increased competition. Among the alternatives examined are for example roundwood and pulp wood. The majority (47 %) of the production go to small-scale consumers. The greatest part (74 %) of all pellets manufactured are produced according to the Swedish Standard, but among the small-scale producers the use of standardization is low. More than one fifth of the production is certified according to FSC and PEFC (scarcely 300 000 tonnes). The low degree of certification depends in a first instance on the fact that 53 % of the producers do not use environmentally certified raw materials but ultimately on the low demand for environmental certified pellets. Today the pellet industry is very dependent on the demand and supply balance for other forest industry products, a dependence that in a future perspective should be abandoned in favor of alternative and forest industry independent raw materials. To avoid the risks associated with overbuilding capacity, a greater share of the Swedish production should go to the expanding international market. Produktionen av och efterfrågan på träbaserad bränslepellets har ökat mycket kraftigt både i Sverige och internationellt de senaste åren. Sverige är idag en av de ledande nationerna när det gäller produktion och användning av bränslepellets. Trots den gynnsamma utvecklingen väntar stora utmaningar. Sågverkens rekordstora produktion av biprodukter räcker inte för att tillfredsställa den ökande efterfrågan vilket har resulterat i ökade råvarukostnader och konkurrens. Historiskt sett har pelletsindustrin präglats av fluktuationer i tillgång och efterfrågan, osäkerhet beträffande statliga bidrag samt hur utvecklingen hos konkurrerande energislag kan påverka situationen. Den här studien utgör en bred kartläggning av den svenska pelletsindustrin. Studien hade tre övergripande syften; att analysera producenternas affärssituation, att undersöka i vilken omfattning produktstandarder och miljöcertifieringar användes inom industrin samt att bedöma vilken potential och vilka möjligheter som finns för industrin i framtiden. Studien utfördes i form av en enkätstudie till Sveriges producenter av bränslepellets och resultaten är baserade på enkätsvar från 55 % av dessa motsvarande 86 % av den totala produktionskapaciteten. Resultaten visar på en snabbt expanderande produktionskapacitet och samtidigt en ansträngd råvarusituation. Industrins produktion ökade med hela 260 % mellan 2001 och 2007, och den totala planerade kapacitetsutbyggnaden uppgår till 708 000 årston, eller drygt 40 % av kapaciteten år 2007. Under samma period har råvarukonkurrensen hårdnat; en tredjedel av producenterna upplever råvarusituationen som det största hotet mot produktionen och majoriteten av alla företag har undersökt alternativa råvaror som svar på den ökande konkurrensen. Bland de undersökta alternativen ingår bland annat rundved och massaved. Huvuddelen (47 %) av produktionen går till småskaliga användare. Större delen (74 %) av all pellets produceras i enighet med Svensk Standard, men bland de småskaliga producenterna är användandet av standardisering låg. Drygt en femtedel av produktionen certifieras i enighet med FSC och PEFC (knappt 300 000 ton). Den låga certifieringsgraden beror dels på att 53 % av producenterna inte använder miljöcertifierade råvaror och främst på den låga efterfrågan på miljöcertifierad pellets. Pelletsindustrin är idag mycket beroende av utbuds- och efterfrågebalansen på andra skogsindustriprodukter, ett beroende som i ett framtidsperspektiv bör brytas till förmån för alternativa och skogsindustrioberoende råvaror. För att undvika riskerna förknippade med överkapacitet bör en större del av den svenska produktionen avsättas på den expanderande internationella marknaden. SLU/Dept. of Forest Products 2008 L3 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/12077/ |
| spellingShingle | bioenergy strategy biofuels standardization pellets energy market heat sector Höglund, Jonas The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title | The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title_full | The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title_fullStr | The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title_short | The Swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| title_sort | swedish fuel pellets industry : production, market and standardization |
| topic | bioenergy strategy biofuels standardization pellets energy market heat sector |