New Zealand’s Kaingaroa wants to copy Scandinavia’s forestry playbook

The proposed wood-processing hub for Kaingaroa, a small forestry village in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty region, is based on an existing model that has worked for decades in parts of Scandinavia, where forest products, manufacturing, power generation and chemistry industries operate together.

Instead of shipping logs without further processing, the idea is to build a system where timber is transformed into engineered wood products, with the remainder put to different uses including chemicals, industrial products and renewable fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel. New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries says wood residues could be used to make biocrude oil, liquid biofuels and solid fuels, while the Ministry for the Environment notes that wood-based biomaterials, biochemicals and bioenergy could reduce reliance on fossil-based products.

The aviation industry faces growing pressure to cut emissions, with electric aircraft still limited on long-haul routes. Sustainable aviation fuel, made from renewable biomass, can operate on existing aircraft engines and blend with conventional jet fuel — but New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment notes the process requires large investments, a constant supply of materials, and technology capable of converting wood residues into usable fuel.

The project, led by NZ Bio Forestry, is being framed as a regional development initiative in partnership with Ngāti Manawa iwi, rather than purely an industrial one.