Govt backs $2 million bio-products study at Kinleith Mill

Thursday, 8 September 2022

Oji Fibre Solutions has partnered with the Government to explore bioproduct production at Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa.

The owners of Kinleith Mill have partnered with the Government to undertake a joint feasibility study into the production of sustainable wood products, hydrogen and biofuels.

Forestry Minister Stuart Nash said the $2 million study would explore sustainable wood processing at the Oji Fibre Solutions-owned site in Tokoroa.

“In order to build a low-emissions, high-wage economy, we need to explore innovative and sustainable solutions across all sectors,” Nash said in a statement on Thursday.

At Glenbrook, south of Auckland, a small facility makes low-emissions hydrogen gas.

“In the wood processing sector, there is the opportunity to integrate bio-manufacturing, which means producing bio-energy and high value bio-chemicals through the development of an advanced bio-economy manufacturing cluster.”

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He said the study was the perfect opportunity to think differently about the way wood is processed in New Zealand, to tap into the bio-economy, and harness the valuable by-products of wood fibre.

“Oji Fibre Solutions is a world-leader in pulp, paper and packaging products, and the Kinleith Mill employs over 500 people in the South Waikato,” Nash said.

“Throughout this study, we’ll investigate how we can make high-value and sustainable bioproducts from wood.

“This could create high-wage, highly-skilled jobs as well as unlocking regional economic opportunities and ultimately building a productive, sustainable and inclusive bio-economy.”

The partnership is one of the first tangible actions resulting from the draft Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan launched in August.

A key focus of the plan is how to add value to the forestry sector by processing logs domestically rather than sending them offshore for other countries to extract value.

“The forestry and wood processing sector has significant growth potential, and innovative ways of thinking like this will help the sector decarbonise, support local job creation and drive the circular economy,” Nash said.

The study would focus on opportunities to develop Kinleith Mill to commercially produce wood products such as biofuels – including sustainable aviation fuel, green hydrogen, bio-plastics and fuel pellets.

It would also look into costs for an upgrade to Kinleith Mill’s energy boilers, known as the “Energy Island”, along with investigating opportunities for third-party investment into the bio-economy.

The feasibility study is expected to be completed in early 2023, after which decisions on next steps would be taken.