Metsä Group Partners with Gasum to Power Paperboard Mills with Biogas by 2030

Metsä Group Partners with Gasum to Power Paperboard Mills with Biogas by 2030

(IN BRIEF) Metsä Group is taking a major step toward its goal of operating fully fossil-free mills by 2030 by partnering with Gasum to use biogas in its paperboard production. Metsä Board, which produces 750,000 tonnes of folding boxboard annually for food, beauty, and healthcare packaging, will begin using Gasum’s renewable biogas—a move that further reduces its carbon footprint and supports customers with strict sustainability goals. Biogas, produced from organic waste streams and fully compatible with existing infrastructure, offers up to 90% lower emissions compared to fossil fuels. The partnership reflects a broader shift in industrial operations toward circular, low-emission energy sources.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESPOO, 24-Apr-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Metsä Board, a Metsä Group company and Europe’s leading producer of folding boxboard, has joined forces with energy company Gasum to incorporate biogas into its production process—marking a significant step in Metsä Group’s wider ambition to eliminate fossil fuels across all its mills by the end of the decade.

Under the new agreement, Gasum will supply renewable biogas to Metsä Board’s paperboard mills in Finland. With an annual production capacity of around 750,000 tonnes, Metsä Board’s folding boxboards are a key component in food, beauty, and healthcare packaging across Europe.

This move comes as Metsä Board continues to build on its strong environmental credentials. A recently verified life cycle assessment (LCA) revealed that using Metsä Board paperboard can slash the carbon footprint of food packaging by over 60%—thanks to both its lightweight design and the high share of fossil-free energy used in its manufacture. Similar studies have shown similar benefits in beauty and healthcare packaging segments.

“Many of our customers are setting increasingly ambitious carbon reduction targets, and our low-emission products help them meet these goals,” explains Pirita Mikkanen, Vice President of Energy at Metsä Group. “Replacing natural gas with renewable biogas is one way we’re progressing toward our goal of fossil-free mills by 2030.”

Gasum, which produces biogas from organic waste streams like agricultural residues, food waste, and industrial by-products, sees the partnership as a model for sustainable value chains. “Our collaboration with Metsä Group highlights how biogas can reduce emissions not only for our direct customers but across entire supply chains,” says Ville Pesonen, Vice President for Industry and Traffic at Gasum.

One of the biggest advantages of biogas lies in its ease of implementation: because biogas is fully interchangeable with natural gas, it can be introduced into existing infrastructure without additional investments in new equipment.

Biogas also offers significant climate benefits, with life cycle emissions averaging 90% lower than fossil fuels. In some cases—like when produced from manure—it can even deliver a net-negative emissions impact. Looking ahead, Gasum is preparing to expand its renewable gas offerings to include hydrogen-based fuels produced using renewable electricity.

Gasum has set an ambitious goal of bringing seven terawatt hours of renewable gas to the market annually by 2027—three times its current output. Reaching that target would mean avoiding 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year across its customer base.

Read more about Gasum’s gas solutions for businesses and industry

Gasum

The energy company Gasum is a Nordic gas sector and energy market expert. We offer cleaner energy and energy market expert services for industry and for combined heat and power (CHP) production as well as cleaner fuel solutions for road and maritime transport. We help our customers to decrease their own carbon footprint and that of their customers. Together with our partners, we promote development towards a carbon-neutral future on land and at sea. The Gasum Group has around 350 employees in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Gasum is fully owned by the State of Finland.

Metsä Board

Metsä Board is a producer of lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. The fresh wood fibres we use in our products are a renewable, safe and recyclable resource that can be traced back to Northern European forests. We aim to have completely fossil-free mills and raw materials by 2030. We promote a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion. Metsä Board is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2024 our sales totalled EUR 1.9 billion, and we have around 2,300 employees. Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group, whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is owned by over 90,000 Finnish forest owners.

Media Contact:

Ville Pesonen, Vice President, Industry and Traffic, Gasum
+358 40 558 7890, ville.pesonen@gasum.com

SOURCE: GASUM