Ragn-Sells AS established a subsidiary in Estonia, RS-OSA Service OÜ, for an oil shale ash valuation research project launched five years ago. Today, a scientific consortium has been established under the management of the company, in which researchers from the University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology also participate in conducting basic and applied research. Recently, the Archimedes Foundation joined as a co-sponsor of the research.    

According to Rain Vääna, Chairman of the Management Board, Estonia can stand on the brink of change thanks to this innovation, which will help to develop in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable direction, despite the use of oil shale. He added that the goal of all active research so far is to put the acquired knowledge into practice as soon as possible.    

The research of ash recycling solutions from the oil shale electricity industry focuses on the composition of ashes and the possibilities of reusing the chemical components contained in the ashes in different material industries. Such waste utilization technologies would help, on the one hand, to reduce the burden on the environment of Ida-Virumaa and, on the other hand, the need to extract additional natural resources both in Europe and in the world as a whole. 
The aim of technological development works is to add more than one million tons of oil shale ash waste per year by means of a carbon-neutral process.  

In May, the Ragn-Sells Group announced the start of construction of a new fly ash recovery plant near Stockholm, Sweden. In two years' time, the completed plant will be able to convert almost half of the fly ash generated in Sweden into industrial salts.  

The Ragn-Sells Group is a Swedish family business with operations in a total of four countries. The company specializes in developing and providing solutions that support recycling and the circular economy. Ragn-Sells in Estonia employs around 275 people and has a turnover of €27 million.