Fibenol Latvia Ltd will start feasibility and environmental impact studies on a 26-hectare plot of land in Valmiera Industrial Park in order to determine its suitability for the construction of a potential biorefinery.

As a result of the public auction, on 27th August, a building right agreement was signed between Fibenol Latvia, a subsidiary of Estonian company Fibenol OÜ, which was established to expand the Group’s activities in Latvia, and the Valmiera Municipality Government. This entitles the company to start all the necessary preparatory work to implement the large-scale construction project.

“Valmiera is a well-suited location for Fibenol’s first commercial-scale plant,” says Merili Palu, a Member of the Board at Fibenol Latvia. In Imavere, Estonia, the company has a successful pilot plant that will be modelled on a commercial-scale biorefinery to convert low-quality wood into functional biomaterials.

On 15 March, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Estonian company Fibenol OÜ and the Ministries of Economy, Finance, Agriculture, Climate and Energy and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) on the implementation of an investment project with a total investment volume of 600 to 700 million euros. 

“Based on initial assessments, it meets all our key requirements: sufficient space, the potential to establish utilities to support an industrial-scale project, and solid logistical connections, including a railway link. The site’s designation for industrial development is a significant advantage, and the emerging industrial park presents opportunities for synergies with other companies. Moreover, Valmiera is an evolving city that offers a good living environment,” said Palu.

The monitoring and implementation of the contract will be carried out in several stages, taking into account the interests of each party, the principles of good governance, as well as effective risk mitigation measures, so that the strategically important investment results in the opening of the plant, thus making a significant contribution to the country’s economic development and enabling a more sustainable use of Latvia’s forest resources.

Fibenol’s biomaterials project takes root in Valmiera

“After seeing the technology used by Fibenol to produce marketable biomaterials, I am delighted that Valmiera has been chosen as the starting point for such a large, unique and innovative investment project. We are in favour of preserving the value of natural capital and using it efficiently and sustainably,” said Jānis Baiks, Chairman of the Valmiera Municipality Government.

“Based on initial assessments, it meets all our key requirements: sufficient space, the potential to establish utilities to support an industrial-scale project, and solid logistical connections, including a railway link.”
Merili Palu, a Member of the Board at Fibenol Latvia

“The bioeconomy sector has been identified as a priority sector in the Valmiera Industrial Park to facilitate the development and production of high-value products in the Vidzeme region,” added Jānis Baiks.

The development of the planned plant and the scale of the project is a long-term project for both parties, so that a successful feasibility study would result in production commencing around 2030.

“If we want to raise Latvia’s overall prosperity, we need to think not only about exports, but also about transforming our economy. It is important that we process resources such as wood in Latvia into high-value products that are in demand on world markets. Fibenol will develop a biorefinery in Valmiera, using the biorefining method, to produce bio-based materials from wood for road construction, various plastics, the chemical industry and other applications where petroleum products were previously used. We are delighted that Fibenol has chosen Valmiera out of several potential development areas. This is a positive signal for other investors as well,” said Raivis Bremšmits, Director of LIAA.

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