Borealis and Fortum sign new long-term power purchase agreement to supply renewable energy to production operations in Finland

Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers; and Fortum, an energy company and the third largest CO2-free power producer in Europe, have signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to source renewable energy from two onshore wind farms to be built in Finland. As of mid-2024, the new wind farms, majority-owned and operated by Fortum, will supply over 800 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable power to Borealis production operations in Porvoo, Finland, over the course of eight years. Both Borealis and Fortum move closer to realising their climate neutrality goals thanks to the scale and duration of this agreement.

Borealis and Fortum: making good on a shared aim to lower CO2 emissions

The new long-term PPA involves the sourcing of electricity from two onshore wind parks to be built approximately 400 km northwest of Borealis production operations in Porvoo. Together, the two parks, Pjelax-Böle and Kristinestad Norr, will consist of 56 wind turbines with an annual power generation of approximately 1.1 terawatt hours (TWh). Both farms will be majority-owned and operated by Fortum Oy. Construction started in January 2022, with operations anticipated to begin by the middle of 2024 at the latest. Borealis has secured around 10% of the total output of the two wind farms for an eight-year period upon the project’s commissioning in 2024. The over 800 GWh of renewable power supplied within the scope of this PPA is roughly equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of 8000 Finnish households.

Borealis and Fortum share the conviction that industry decarbonisation can only be achieved by working together. Fortum is partnering with its industry and infrastructure clients to develop smart, cost-efficient, and sustainable solutions to energy supply. On one level, the new Borealis and Fortum PPA is providing a significant boost to the Finnish chemical industry, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

On another level, the PPA marks a milestone for Borealis: once the new Fortum project comes online in 2024, the Borealis Group will have reached the 20% mark in its aim to source at least 50% of the electricity consumed in its own production operations from renewable sources by the year 2030. Moreover, the renewable electricity generated within the framework of this PPA will reduce the Scope 2 emissions (CO2 emissions resulting from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company) at its Finnish operations by 28,000 tons /year, or a total of 224 kilotonnes Scope 2 emissions over the eight-year duration of the PPA.

“It’s great to start the year with yet another major PPA. Our agreement with Fortum is especially meaningful because it moves Borealis across the important milepost of 20% electricity supplied from renewable sources for use in our operations,” says Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive VP Base Chemicals & Operations. “Realising our commitment to re-inventing for more sustainable living starts with our own operations. We are pleased that this new PPA with Fortum brings us ever closer to achieving our ambitious Energy & Climate goals, and enables us to further accelerate our pace in sustainable power sourcing.”

“As the third-largest producer of CO2-free power in Europe, we are pleased to be working with a partner who shares our commitment for a cleaner world,” says Mats Persson, Fortum VP, Trading and Asset Optimisation. “To achieve decarbonisation in Europe, we need big players like Borealis on board who can transform the industry by making their operations more energy efficient. We at Fortum look forward to putting our technical know-how and experience to work to support Borealis in this crucial energy transformation.”