Neste Oil has inaugurated its new emissions recovery system at the harbor of its Porvoo refinery, the conpany confirmed this week.

Ville Niinistö, Finland's environmental minister, officiated at the recent ceremony. The new system is capable of recovering up to 70% of the volatile organic compounds (VOC) released into the atmosphere when loading gasoline. 

"Growth potential in the world economy is increasingly focused on technology designed to address the environmental issues we face," said Ville Niinistö. "The work that Neste Oil has done to generate growth from new, low-emission solutions shows that there is a lot of hope for the future of Finland's industrial know-how."

Costing around €26 million and built over the past two years, the system represents a major environmental investment.

"Reducing environmental impact and cutting emissions are at the heart of Neste Oil's cleaner traffic strategy," said Neste Oil CEO Matti Lievonen. "As well as developing a globally successful business based on cleaner fuels, we have worked for decades to reduce the environmental impact of our own operations.

"We have reduced the emissions of our refineries significantly over the years, and we believe that we can reduce their impact on the environment even further," he added. "Our aim is to do this in a practical, cost-effective way, as we also need to ensure that we maintain our competitiveness in a challenging marketplace."

Thanks to the new system, hydrocarbon emissions at Porvoo will be reduced significantly, as gasoline loading operations at the refinery's harbor are the site's single largest source of VOC emissions.

In addition to reduced emissions, the new system will also provide a cleaner working environment for harbor personnel.