Oji Holdings to acquire Austria's leading biorefineryFriday 12 Sep 2025
Based near Salzburg, Austria, AustroCel is one of Europe’s leading carbon converters: taking sustainably sourced forestry by-products and extracting the full value of wood to produce advanced biofuels, bio-based performance chemical products and biomaterials. With manufacturing and R&D at a single integrated site, the business serves a global customer base and has over 300 employees. During TowerBrook’s ownership period and under the leadership of Wolfram Kalt, CEO, AustroCel made significant long-term investments for the future, building a highly differentiated biorefining platform, pioneering market best practice in the pursuit of a zero-waste model and maximising profitable growth and sustainability. The business has been a consistent innovator during this period, launching and scaling next generation bioethanol production in 2021 and in the last year bringing to market a highly innovative agricultural hydrogel – a biodegradable natural polymer which significantly reduces irrigation requirements and supports growers as they seek to address the ongoing challenges of climate change. Looking to the future, AustroCel is well positioned to continue to build its product offering with the potential to add sustainably sourced e-methanol to its portfolio based on inhouse biogenic CO2 capacity. Patrick Verschelde, Chairman of AustroCel and Senior Advisor to TowerBrook, commented: “AustroCel sits at the heart of the circular economy, offering a model for sustainable investment and a template for the future potential of the wood products industry. This is a perfect fit for Oji, which shares the same values and vision for sustainable growth; I am delighted that the two business have come together.” Wolfram Kalt, CEO of AustroCel, added, “We are grateful for TowerBrook’s commitment, investment and vision during their ownership. Our teams are proud to have transformed AustroCel into what is today – a highly innovative biorefinery. We look forward to the future and our partnership with Oji which offers many opportunities for continued growth.” The completion of the acquisition is subject to relevant approvals. More >> Source & image credit: AustroCel Editor's note: International investors prove wood-for-chemicals is new way forward - The Oji Holdings purchase of Austrocel is another example of how bioeconomy innovators are setting the new direction for new products to come from lignin and other wood components. To find out more, register to attend the inaugural New Zealand Bioeconomy Innovations Conference 2025.  | ||
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