Renewable UPM BioVerno is made from wood-based tall oil by a hydrotreatment process developed at the UPM Research Centre in Lappeenranta, Southeast Finland. UPM is pioneering a transformation of the forest industry, seeking to use wood with optimal efficiency. We want to maximise the lifecycle of wood-based raw materials replacing fossils.
Producing advanced biofuels
Enhanced biofuel production technology
Crude tall oil as a raw material
Crude tall oil is a natural wood extract of mainly softwood origin. This renewable raw material comes from sustainably managed forests - extracted as a residue when separating wood fibre for pulp production. A substantial part of the renewable raw material processed in Lappeenranta comes from UPM pulp mills in Finland, such as the neighbouring UPM Kaukas mill. The use of crude tall oil in biofuel production does not increase wood usage.
Our crude tall oil feedstock has been awarded with RSB low ILUC (indirect land use change) risk certification. This certification confirms that UPM feedstocks have a low risk of displacing current biomass production or diverting feedstocks away from other uses.