Development of business concepts for the commercialization of Votion’s bio-based solutions and value chains

Fuels and oils from any biomass

This feasibility study has identified focus areas for the company Votion’s pilot projects and the concepts it develops. Techno-economic, business model-related, and regulatory prerequisites needed to scale up various raw-material-flexible technologies from laboratory scale to large-scale biorefineries have been investigated.

Votion was founded in 2022 to develop raw-material-flexible technologies and projects where any type of biomass can be refined into high-quality bio-oil, which in turn can be used to produce biofuels and biochemicals. This would contribute to a more energy-efficient system as a whole, yielding higher mass output. Sweden’s self-sufficiency in fuels and other oils could also be increased.

The development of Votion’s value chains aims to create global large-scale concepts to achieve millions of tons of advanced biofuels and biochemicals in annual production capacity. The demand for large-scale biorefineries is significant, but so far, technology with manageable technical risk is lacking.

This feasibility study has provided focus areas for Votion’s pilot projects and deeper insights into the commercialization of the concepts under development. The purpose has been to investigate how various raw-material-flexible technologies can scale up quickly from laboratory scale to pilot plant and further to demonstration and large-scale biorefineries.

The investigation has been based on techno-economic conditions, choice of business model, and considering policy and regulations at national and EU level. Thorough analyses of the projects’ and technologies’ strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and risks, and identification of the resources required for implementation have been carried out.

Among the strengths of the technology and projects identified were, for example, that Votion’s process can utilize all types of organic materials and waste, including plastics and textile materials.

The possibilty of choosing whatever raw material that is currently the cheapest presents the biorefineries with a competitive advantage. The ability to manufacture many different high-quality products (renewable gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, specialty oils, and chemicals) allows for product categories to be tailored to demand.

Votion’s plan is to have pilot plants operational by 2024, and the first large-scale biorefinery operational by 2028, with a capacity of 200,000 to 500,000 tons of biofuels per year.