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 Rainbow Pellet successfully starts up commercial-scale empty fruit bunch pellet plant featuring key ANDRITZ equipment

Rainbow Pellet starts up world’s first commercial-scale Steam-Ex pellet plant using ANDRITZ technology to process empty fruit bunches

2026/06/23

Rainbow Pellet Sdn Bhd has successfully started up the world’s first commercial-scale Steam-Ex pellet plant for empty fruit bunches at its site in Kuala Lipis, Malaysia, using ANDRITZ technology.

This achievement marks a major milestone in the industrial-scale processing of low-value oil palm residues into high-quality advanced solid biofuels suitable for direct coal replacement, opening a new pathway for converting abundant agricultural residues into commercially viable renewable fuels.

Empty fruit bunches are a residual biomass stream with significant energy potential. Their conversion into advanced solid biofuels creates value from a resource that would otherwise be underutilized or used in lower-value applications.

The Steam-Ex line features ANDRITZ pretreatment equipment utilizing steam explosion technology. ANDRITZ also supplied automation and provided integration and start-up services to support reliable and efficient operation. The technology is designed to process challenging biomass feedstocks and support the production of high-quality pellets for industrial energy applications.

Paul Wong, Executive Director at Rainbow Pellet, said: “This first-of-its-kind Steam-Ex pellet line represents a decisive step for our company and for the commercial-scale utilization of empty fruit bunches. ANDRITZ’s support was essential in bringing this innovative concept into operation and laying the foundation for future expansion of this technology.”

Maximilian Lehr, Technology Manager at ANDRITZ, commented: “This milestone highlights the potential of Steam-Ex technology to unlock the value of underutilized biomass residues and provides a solid foundation for future investments.”

Rainbow Pellet Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian company focused on biomass pellet production and forest plantations. The company is committed to advancing innovative processing technologies that enable sustainable and efficient resource utilization. With a clear emphasis on industrial-scale solutions, Rainbow Pellet aims to play a leading role in the regional bioenergy and bio-based materials market.

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 Rainbow Pellet successfully starts up commercial-scale empty fruit bunch pellet plant featuring key ANDRITZ equipment

World premiere: Rainbow Pellet successfully starts up commercial-scale empty fruit bunch pellet plant featuring key ANDRITZ equipment.

© Rainbow Pellet

ANDRITZ GROUP
International technology group ANDRITZ provides advanced plants, equipment, services, and digital solutions for a wide range of industries, including pulp and paper, metals, hydropower, environmental, and others. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in Austria, the publicly listed group employs about 30,000 people at 280 locations in over 80 countries.

As a global leader in technology and innovation, ANDRITZ is committed to fostering progress that benefits customers, partners, employees, society, and the environment. The company’s growth is driven by sustainable solutions enabling the green transition, advanced digitalization for highest industrial performance, and comprehensive services that maximize the value of customers’ plants over their entire life cycle. ANDRITZ. FOR GROWTH THAT MATTERS.

ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER
ANDRITZ Pulp & Paper provides sustainable technology, automation, and service solutions for the production of all types of pulp, paper, board, and tissue. The technologies and services focus on increased production efficiency, lower overall operating costs as well as innovative decarbonization strategies and autonomous plant operation.

The product portfolio also includes boilers for power generation, various nonwoven technologies, and panelboard (MDF) production systems. With waste-to-value recycling, shredding and energy solutions, waste and by-product streams from production are converted into valuable secondary raw materials as well as into sustainable resources for energy generation. State-of-the-art IIoT technologies as part of Metris digitalization solutions complete the comprehensive product offering.