Invest in a clean future

The war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for energy self-sufficiency, especially in Europe. In addition, national and international emissions reduction targets and incentives to increase the use of renewable energy have improved the competitiveness of solar heat. However, turbulence in the energy sector, higher inflation, and higher costs of financing have slowed investment decisions. 

Meriaura Group’s Renewable Energy business focuses on segments with high growth potential. These include large solar parks and smart solar power solutions for commercial and industrial properties, ports, housing companies and single-family homes, as well as industrial-scale solar district heating and large systems for generating solar heat for industrial processes. Meriaura Group has strong references and a good market position in these areas, especially in France, Germany and Poland, where the demand for solar thermal solutions is expected to grow rapidly. In Finland, with the acquisition of Rasol Oy, Meriaura Group also has a strong market position in solar power systems.

A significant increase in demand can be seen in solar power, the main market for the Renewable Energy business, as well as in large solar thermal systems. In 2022, the solar power production capacity in Finland increased by 63%, reaching a total capacity of 636 MW. Between 2016 and 2022, the annual capacity increase has been almost 70% (source: Solar Energy Finland, 2023).

In solar district heating, Germany is one of the leading countries in Europe. In 2022, the capacity installed in the German solar thermal market increased by 11% from the previous year and was around 496 MW. The growth trend is expected to continue (source: Solarthermalworld 2023).

According to Solarthermalworld, currently around 6,000 municipalities, towns or cities in Europe have a district heating network, but only around 270 of them use solar heat. The number of solar thermal plant development projects for district heating production is currently at a record high. 

The market for solar thermal systems producing industrial process heat is also expected to grow. In 2023, around 150 MW of production capacity was under development in Europe. So far, most solar thermal systems have been relatively small, but the size of plants has grown significantly in recent years. Meriaura Energy has already delivered systems with a capacity of more than 10 MW, and the scale of plants is expected to continue to grow. The operating model in which the developer is an investor with a long-term heat sales contract with an industrial plant has become more common in recent years and supports the use of solar heat in industry. 

-Meriaura Group´s Financial statement release 2023 on 1st March 2024

Meriaura’s vessels are involved in the tramp trade in Europe, mainly in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Meriaura specialises in
the maritime transport of industrial products and raw materials (bulk cargo) and the transport of demanding special cargo. Bulk cargo is a competitive sector where the market participants range from large multinational companies
to small regional operators. Around 75% of Meriaura’s revenue comes from bulk cargo, and around 25% comes from cargo and project shipments requiring special expertise.

The demand for maritime transport is affected by general economic development, and the industry has historically been rather volatile. Currently, geopolitical tensions are causing high volatility in ship fuel prices. In addition, operational costs have risen exceptionally strongly as a result of inflation, and the price of equipment has remained high.

Despite the deterioration of the general economic situation, the company considers its outlook for 2024 to be good. The
demand for dry cargo transport is expected to vary by product group. However, Meriaura’s contracts mainly consist of the transport of commodities that are not particularly sensitive to business cycles, such as fertilisers, grain, feed raw materials, renewable energy raw materials and minerals. The bulk business is largely based on annual contracts. Meriaura estimates that around 70–75% of its bulk transport volume and revenue will come from contract customers in 2024, and that the freight level of contract transport will remain stable throughout the contract period. Spot sales, which are more difficult to
predict, play an important role in optimising transport and ship utilisation rates.

The demand for project transport suitable for the type of equipment operated by Meriaura has remained good. The planning horizon of project shipments is considerably longer than in the bulk business, and the existing order backlog is a good starting point for the fleet for 2024. The demand for heavy special transport is expected to remain strong even in the longer term as
a result of investments in renewable energy, among other factors.

Kierrätetyt biopolttoaineet
Biopolttoaineita pidetään yleisesti kustannustehokkaana ja ympäristöystävällisenä vaihtoehtona öljylle ja muille fossiilisille polttoaineille. Suurin osa kierrätetyistä biopolttoaineista käytetään liikenteen polttoaineina, mutta niitä voidaan käyttää myös lämmitykseen ja sähköntuotantoon. Biopolttoaineiden käytön odotetaan kasvavan, kun niiden hintaa saadaan tutkimus- ja kehitystyöllä laskettua ja tarjontaa kaupallistettua. Kasvua tukee päästötavoitteiden lisäksi polttoaineen kotimaisuus, mikä vähentää riippuvuutta tuontiöljystä. Myös erilaisten biopolttoaineiden käyttöä tukevien säännösten ja verokannustimien odotetaan lisäävän biopolttoaineiden kysyntää kuljetusalalla eri puolilla maailmaa. Tällä hetkellä suurin haaste biopolttoaineiden käytön lisääntymisessä on sopivien raaka-aineiden saatavuus.

-Meriaura Group´s Financial statement release 2023, 1st March 2024