Svensk Etanolkemi

Sekab (Svensk Etanolkemi) is a Swedish chemical company headquartered and producing at the High Coast Innovation Park just outside Örnsköldsvik. It describes itself as a producer of fossil-free chemicals that help industrial customers reduce their carbon footprint, working with customers and partners to replace fossil-based raw materials with bio-based alternatives. Its product portfolio centres on ethanol and ethanol-derived chemicals such as acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate, and it has historically supplied bioethanol for the biofuels E85 and ED95. The company was founded in 1985 through the spin-off of the ethanol business from Berol Kemi, but its industrial roots go back much further: ethanol and chemicals have been produced at the site now known as High Coast Innovation Park for more than a century, with the first industrial ethanol from sulphite liquor produced in the Örnsköldsvik area in 1909. Acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate were part of the business from the start, and securing the supply of chemicals in Sweden was an important part of the background to the founding. Sekab is privately held. It is owned 70 percent by Norrlands Etanolkraft AB — consisting of Övik Energi, Umeå Energi and Skellefteå Kraft — and 30 percent by EcoIndustries Development in Europe AB. The company operates primarily in Sweden and the wider European chemical market, having begun selling and distributing ethyl acetate on the European market in 2002. In 2019 it launched bio-based acetaldehyde, marking a step in the transformation of its product portfolio towards bio-based chemistry. Sekab emphasises health, safety, environment and quality in its operations, given that it handles large volumes of flammable, corrosive or hazardous substances. It is connected to SSG entré, an industry standard for safer working environments in industrial plants, and works with authorities and the local community on safety in the Domsjö industrial area. The company publishes annual and sustainability reports and has received recognition such as an EcoVadis Gold rating.

Sekab's history is rooted in more than a century of industrial ethanol and chemical production in the Örnsköldsvik area of northern Sweden. The first drops of ethanol were produced industrially from sulphite liquor there in 1909, marking the beginning of expertise in ethanol and industrial chemistry that would much later become part of Sekab's operations. In the 1940s, ethanol production in Domsjö gained momentum and the organic chemical industry developed; ethanol from the sulphite process became a raw material for chemicals, building industrial expertise in the area that continues to shape operations today. In 1973, MoDo sold its chemicals business to Statsföretag, and the company was renamed Berol Kemi. In 1983, the Stiftelsen Svensk Etanolutveckling (SSEU) was founded in Örnsköldsvik to promote ethanol as a fuel. Sekab itself was founded in 1985 through the spin-off of the ethanol business from Berol Kemi. Acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate were part of the business from the start, and securing the supply of chemicals in Sweden was an important part of the background to the founding. A significant step from a business with strong local roots towards the European chemical market came in 2002, when Sekab began selling and distributing ethyl acetate on the European market. The company's product portfolio has since evolved towards bio-based chemistry. In 2019, bio-based acetaldehyde was launched, marking an important step in the transformation of the product portfolio, with focus increasingly shifting towards chemicals. Sekab today describes itself as a Swedish chemical company that produces fossil-free chemicals, helping industrial customers reduce their carbon footprint, and it continues to work with customers and partners to replace fossil-based raw materials with bio-based alternatives in industrial applications.

• 2019

  Bio-based acetaldehyde is launched, marking an important step in the transformation of the product portfolio.

• 2002

  Sekab begins selling and distributing ethyl acetate on the European market.

• 1985

  Sekab is founded through the spin-off of the ethanol business from Berol Kemi.

• 1983

  Stiftelsen Svensk Etanolutveckling (SSEU) is founded in Örnsköldsvik to promote ethanol as a fuel.

• 1973

  MoDo sells its chemicals business to Statsföretag; the company is renamed Berol Kemi.

• 1940

  Ethanol production in Domsjö gains momentum and the organic chemical industry develops.

• 1909

  The first drops of ethanol are produced industrially from sulphite liquor in the Örnsköldsvik area.

Producer of fossil-free, bio-based chemicals enabling industrial customers to replace fossil raw materials.

• Bioethanol

  Ethanol produced for biofuels such as E85 and ED95 and as a chemical building block.

• Acetaldehyde

  Part of the business from the start; a bio-based version was launched in 2019.

• Ethyl acetate

  Part of the business from the start; sold and distributed on the European market since 2002.

• Acetic acid

  One of the ethanol-derived chemicals in the portfolio.

1. 1A Swedish chemical company - Sekabsekab.com
2. 2Our history - Sekab - Over 100 years of chemical industrysekab.com
3. 3About the company - Sekab a swedish chemical companysekab.com
4. 4Health, safety, environment and quality - Sekabsekab.com
5. 5Svensk Etanolkemiwikidata.org
6. 6SEKABde.wikipedia.org