Case study
Finland — pellet origination & seasonal swap for the heating season
Objective
Secure winter supply for a Nordic district heating utility by developing a 20–30k-tonne pellet pipeline within an August–June window, meeting the utility’s premium/industrial specifications and sustainability guardrails.
What we did
- Sourcing & qualification: validated EU and transatlantic suppliers with specification pathways (Premium → Industrial I1 → I2), test certificates and contracting docs.
- Specs & compliance: aligned on NCV (as received), durability, ash, fines and sustainability claims under EN/ISO/RED II frameworks.
- Ports & logistics: route cards for Baltic Sea delivery; CIF/FOB options and handling notes at nominated terminals.
- Seasonal swap structure: designed an ~8k-tonne forward swap—pulling volume into Q4 and returning replacement tonnes in Q1—indexed pricing with documented differentials to smooth winter coverage.
Key results
- Contract-ready shortlist with price ladders and incoterm options.
- Seasonal swap mechanism to derisk Q4/Q1 while preserving spec integrity.
- Audit-ready documentation trail (spec pages, COAs, sustainability status).
At a glance
20–30k-t
target window
~8k-t
seasonal swap
Premium/I1/I2
spec pathways
Outcome
The utility received a contract-ready supply plan with immediate winter coverage, backstopped by a documented swap and compliant specification routes. Execution pathways were prepared on CIF/FOB terms with nominated Baltic terminals.