Aurora Restarts 20,000-Tonne Bio-Oil Plant in the Netherlands, Completes First Delivery

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Aurora Renewable Carbon of the Netherlands has announced that its Empyro fast pyrolysis bio-oil plant in Hengelo has resumed production and has delivered the first batch of pyrolysis bio-oil since restart to FrieslandCampina's production site in Borculo. The batch has been used in an industrial steam boiler, co-fired with natural gas, to provide process steam for the dairy production facility. Empyro's currently disclosed annual bio-oil production capacity is 20,000 tonnes.

The Empyro unit is located at the Nobian industrial park in Hengelo and uses the fast pyrolysis process developed by BTG Bioliquids, processing woody biomass residues as feedstock under oxygen-free conditions to produce liquid bio-oil. According to the original engineering design data, the unit processes approximately 120 tonnes of woody feedstock per day while also producing process steam and electricity for its own use and for adjacent industrial facilities.

The plant began production in 2015 and ceased operation in early 2023. Aurora acquired the Empyro assets in August 2025, obtained restart financing from Triodos Bank, Oost NL and other investors in July 2026, and subsequently resumed production. The company has signed a long-term woody biomass feedstock supply agreement with Ten Damme, and the supplied feedstock must meet NTA 8080 sustainability requirements.

Aurora is also developing the Biorefinery Twente facility adjacent to the existing Empyro plant, with planned commissioning in 2027. The facility is intended to further process pyrolysis bio-oil, separating lignin, sugars and light phenolic products to provide bio-based feedstocks for the manufacture of resins, coatings and composite materials.