The effects of high pre-heating temperature (³ 140°C) of birch chips to produce high freeness CTMP have been investigated. The trials revealed that high pre-heating temperature lowers the energy consumption e.g. at 500 ml CSF an increase in temperature from 110°C to 160°C reduced the energy consumption by more than 40 %. Despite the lower energy input, shive content remained low or was even reduced and the internal bond strength, in terms of Scott-Bond, was well in comparison with Spruce CTMP. In summary, high pre-heating temperature can be used to manufacture low energy pulps with very high bulk.