UPM Biochemicals

Renewable wood-based biochemicals offer brand owners and material producers exciting new opportunities for improving their environmental performance. We develop sustainable and competitive high-quality solutions for replacing fossil based-ingredients in various industries and applications.

UPM takes the next transformative growth step and enters the biochemicals business by investing in a biorefinery at Leuna, Germany. The biorefinery will produce a range of 100% wood-based biochemicals which enable a switch from fossil raw materials to sustainable alternatives in various consumer-driven end-uses. The investment opens totally new markets for UPM with large growth potential for the future.

Our high-quality glycols, biobased MEG and MPG, will be ready to be converted into various industrial products and everyday consumer goods. Replacing fossil-based products with renewable glycols supports the circular economy and allows our customers to redefine their sustainability targets.

Lignin-based renewable functional fillers are used in different rubber applications as a sustainable alternative to carbon black and silica. Besides climate benefits, UPM’s renewable functional fillers will provide customers additional benefits such as lighter weight and high purity.

Lignin is a 100% bio-based substance that can be found in the cell walls of all plants and especially trees. It can make up to 30% of the entire biomass. It is the glue that provides compressive strength to wood and it also makes cell walls water repellant and durable. It is these properties that make lignin an ideal bio-based substitute for various petro-based products used today. Lignin has already found its way into a rapidly growing number of industrial applications such as resins, adhesives, bio-plastics, and polyurethanes

Read more: UPM invests in next generation biochemicals

• Leading expertise in wood-based ​bioinnovations
• High quality products with attractive environmental benefits​
• Significant and growing position in intellectual property rights ​
• Competitive and sustainable ​non-food feedstock
• Extensive partner network ​in multiple value chains