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Anti-Russian sanctions may stop Finnish diesel cars – media — Analysis

Newspaper warns that fuel additive shortage could leave Nordic countries without road transport.

The sanctions against Russia have put Finland at great risk, Helsingin Sanomat reported Wednesday. The fuel used in heavy-duty trucks’ diesel engines must contain an anti-pollution additive that was made using Russian resources.

AdBlue is the urea-based diesel exhaust fluid, also known as AdBlue. It makes it possible to reduce emissions by enabling modern diesel engines to perform catalytic processes. Russian chemical companies have been banned from importing urea into the EU, which has a negative impact on AdBlue’s manufacturing. 

The supply crisis cannot be resolved immediately, Jari Makkonen, the CEO of Finland’s largest producer of DEF, Arom-Dekor, told the newspaper. The executive said that Finland uses 75-80 million liters per year of AdBlue and that the emergency reserves could be exhausted within weeks if it isn’t remediated.

Norwegian chemical giant Yara had to cease buying urea from Russia. While it said that it would use its international logistic lines to make up the difference, it acknowledged that certain shortages could still be avoided.

German energy giant explains impact of Russia sanctions

Further exacerbating the situation is the fact that urea is produced from natural gas, which is at record high prices on the European market, partially due to tensions with Russia, Europe’s biggest supplier. European sanctions didn’t apply to Russian gas deliveries, but the EU said it was going to phase it out and stop relying on Moscow for energy in the future.

Petri Murto from SKAL (Finnish Transport Industry Association) said that it was still not a good situation. “acute”However, it is possible that individual companies will have to manage a shortage of the proper diesel fuel. 

Although it is possible to modify engines to run dirty and bypass the catalytic converter, this would mean that the law must be changed. The report stated that emergency measures have been discussed with Finnish authorities.

South Korea experienced similar economic difficulties last November when Japan stopped shipments of its Pacific neighbor with urea. The chemical can be used to make diesel fuel and is also a key raw material in fertilizer production. Seoul requested that Russia increase its supplies.

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