(Neste) You may not have heard the name Ulla Kiiski. But the Finnish scientist’s breakthroughs in inventing renewable, non-fossil diesel are poised to go down in history. “Resilience against difficult odds runs in my blood,” she tells journalist Ninni Sandelius as we kick off our series interviewing the innovative people leading our industry into a more sustainable tomorrow.
We researchers knew we had something special in our hands. But the world was not quite ready for the change.
Ulla Kiiski is the scientist whose team is behind the innovation that changed the course of the global fuel industry. And yet, like Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the internet, Kiiski would rather be working than posing for the cameras, more satisfied with her legacy than with fame and fortune.
Kiiski has worked for 33 years at the research center inside Neste, the Finnish oil refining company that has become the global leader in renewable fuels. Among the many patents she holds is one that sounds as unlikely today as it did 23 years ago when her team at Neste hit on it: a renewable, non-fossil fuel that can power planes, cars and boats.
Now 59, Kiiski is humble and matter-of-fact. And yet, like Berners-Lee or the scientist and inventor Nikola Tesla, it is just possible that her team’s work will one day be seen as a turning point in the human story, opening up new possibilities and striking a decisive blow against climate change.
To understand her unlikely journey to the forefront of the global move toward sustainable fuel resources, we need to look into her background, and the inspiration she takes from science, life and Finland itself.
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It was in her later years of secondary school that Kiiski’s fascination with chemistry—and the journey toward her breakthrough—began. In fact, Kiiski can pinpoint it to the hour.
She remembers one particular lab assignment, in which she was asked to combine sodium and chlorine ions to make salt. “It was a revelation to witness how molecules are composed. I realized that this isn’t difficult. It’s fun and it’s fascinating!”
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She also recognizes the element of adventure and quest in chemistry—a prospect that still inspires her to this day. “Thanks to chemistry, the welfare of humankind has been improved substantially,” she says, enthusiastically. “Think about all the innovations in medicine and food technology, for instance. Our everyday life is intertwined with so much chemistry that it’s sometimes hard to grasp.”
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In 1993, while working on a report on catalytic conversion of vegetable oils by hydrogenation, she became convinced that Neste should test this new technology. She could see the possibly outstanding properties of a new product: The renewable diesel produced with the technology would contain paraffinic hydrocarbons and no aromatics, meaning no smell, and was recognized to have beneficial properties like lower exhaust gas emissions; in short a top-quality paraffinic diesel. And she knew that Neste could utilize its existing oil refining technology and expertise in the process development.
Ensio Tukiainen, the director of research at the time, asked the still-young researcher to share her ideas. Won over by her case, he green-lit the project, and Kiiski and her colleagues started testing how catalysts would work with vegetable oils, namely rapeseed oil, known as canola oil in the US, and tall oil fatty acid.
Soon, they managed to develop a fuel combining good cold properties and a great cetane rating, the number indicating the combustion speed of diesel fuel and compression needed for ignition. Kiiski and her colleaguesOuti Piirainen and Pekka Aalto filed a patent application in 1996.
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The testing continued after the patent, but there was a break in development, and the project did not advance to production. “It was the late 1990s, and the time was just not ripe,” Kiiski says. At the time Neste was also contemplating the possibilities of first-generation bio diesels.
In the meantime, Kiiski started working in the product development team. But as the 2000s dawned, the world changed again: The pressure to reduce carbon emissions became more and more urgent as the data on climate change began to stack up. “Neste was at a crossroads and decided to take a bold decision toward manufacturing sustainable fuels,” Kiiski remembers. This restarted the project around the innovation that Kiiski and the team had patented.
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It was time for Neste to take a calculated risk—to move the company in a fresh direction by investing in this new technology to create renewable fuels. This was something that was noisily criticized at the time, by investors, employees and customers alike, but a risk that is now widely recognized as one worth taking.
In 2007, the company opened a brand-new unit in Porvoo refinery, where Kiiski was working. Its purpose was to make Neste MY Renewable Diesel, 100% from various wastes and residues as well as vegetable oils. In addition, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%.
It turned out to be a smart move. Within a decade, Neste has transformed its operations to become the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel. It has made investments worth billions in renewable products, building refineries in Rotterdam and Singapore. In fact, renewable diesel now brings in the majority of the company’s revenue.
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Within the piles of paper in her office are studies and reports that hint at the direction in which her thoughts are taking her. Some are on recycling waste plastics to fuels and chemicals, or on future raw materials such as algae oil and lignocellulose.
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“There were international conferences where the speaker could greet us with ‘Lady and gentlemen,’ as I was the only woman in the room,” she laughs. “I’m really glad this imbalance has changed over the years.” READ MORE