Neste’s renewable fuel to help Outokumpu’s Kemi mine

Outokumpu will replace the fossil fuels used by its Kemi mine and Tornio steel mill and the contractors on these sites with Neste MY Renewable Diesel. Outokumpu manufactures the world’s lowest-emission stainless steel. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutrality at its Kemi mine by 2025. Renewable fuel supplied by Neste enables the Kemi mine and the Tornio mill to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their fleet and heavy machinery by 90% on average.  With the use of renewable fuel supplied by Neste, the Kemi mine’s annual greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by nearly 11,300 tons. This will mean achieving almost 30% of the total carbon neutrality target for the Kemi mine. 

The three key factors contributing to achieving carbon neutrality at Outokumpu’s Kemi mine are abandoning fossil fuels (including contractors’ fleet), using low-emission electricity, and replacing natural gas and propane with other heating methods. Renewable fuel supplied by Neste will replace fossil fuels in heavy machinery, trains, secondary power sources, and transportation between the Kemi mine and the Tornio mill.

“Our goal at Neste is to help customers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons per year by 2030. I’m pleased that our long-term cooperation with Outokumpu continues, and that we can support the company in working towards its ambitious carbon neutrality target. The use of renewable fuel at the Kemi mine and the Tornio steel mill is Neste’s most extensive mining and steel industry collaboration in Europe so far. Neste’s renewable product is suitable as such for fleet and heavy machinery running on diesel. By replacing fossil fuels with our renewable fuel in their own fleet and contractors’ fleet, Outokumpu can immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Joni Pihlström, Vice President, Marketing & Services, B2B Sales at Neste.

“The carbon neutrality of the Kemi mine is an investment worth millions of euros. If achieved, it will mean a reduction of nearly 40,000 tons in Outokumpu’s greenhouse gas emissions. Our first step is to switch to renewable fuel, and we are seeking to identify all means to reduce emissions throughout the value chain and minimise our total emissions to as close to zero as possible. We are exploring opportunities to offset the remaining emissions in our value chain that cannot otherwise be reduced using currently available technologies. Our goal is to make the Kemi mine the world’s first operational carbon-neutral mine by 2025,” says Heidi Peltonen, Vice President, Sustainability at Outokumpu.