Renewable materials giant Stora Enso partners with Valmet for sustainable lignin production

Renewable materials giant Stora Enso partners with Valmet for sustainable lignin production

(IN BRIEF) Stora Enso, a Finnish renewable materials company, has announced a collaboration with Valmet, a Finnish engineering company, to develop next-generation lignin products and processes. The partnership aims to develop lignin products and processes to increase quality, customer value, and supply to meet growing demand. Lignin is an abundant and renewable natural polymer, extracted from wood pulp during the paper-making process, that has applications in replacing fossil-based materials in asphalt, furniture panels, and dyestuff. Stora Enso and Valmet will leverage their respective resources to drive innovation in lignin-based products, including lignin-based carbon for energy storage and bio-binders. Stora Enso has been the largest kraft lignin producer globally since 2015, and its Sunila site in Finland uses Valmet’s LignoBoost technology for lignin extraction.

(PRESS RELEASE) HELSINKI, 16-Feb-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Stora Enso (HEL: STERV), a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper,  and Valmet have entered into a strategic partnership to drive the development of next-generation lignin products and processes. The objective of the collaboration is to further improve the quality and customer value of lignin, increase supply by optimizing process machinery and asset design, and accelerate the speed of meeting the growing demand for lignin in the future.

Lignin, present in all plants, is the second most common macromolecule in nature, following cellulose. It accounts for up to one-third of the composition of wood and is a renewable, non-toxic raw material that can be traced to its area of origin.

As Stora Enso’s agenda focuses on biomaterials innovations, the company aims to bring innovative and sustainable materials to the market to replace fossil-based materials. Through know-how, strategic collaborations, and partnerships, Stora Enso works to accelerate breakthrough innovations in areas such as lignin-based carbon for energy storage and bio-binders. Today, wood-based lignin replaces fossil-based materials in asphalt, plywood, furniture panels, and dyestuff, to name a few.

With the cooperation for next-generation lignin, Stora Enso and Valmet will develop the lignin product and process further, benefiting from the superior technical excellence and resources of both companies. Stora Enso has been the largest kraft lignin producer in the world since 2015. At its Sunila site in Finland, Stora Enso uses Valmet’s LignoBoost technology for lignin extraction.

“We are developing our lignin offering to be able to meet the growing need for lignin and tailor it for our customers working with various end-applications. With next-generation lignin, we can, for instance, enable the development of sustainable battery technologies,” says Kimmo Ruohoniemi, Head of Lignin Operations at Stora Enso.

“Our focus in LignoBoost development is to tailor the lignin quality for improved end-product fit, reduce production costs, and at the same time improve the production process in general. It is rewarding to do this kind of product development where we have a clear and concrete end goal,” says Hanna Karlsson, Manager for Valmet LignoBoost Technology.

“For us it is vital to develop our technology together with our customer. In this collaboration, Valmet can succeed only if Stora Enso succeeds. The goal for both of us is to create new value-adding business. Our expertise is in developing the lignin extraction technology and other complementing technologies required to enable lignin extraction without any negative impact to the pulp mill operation,” says Jussi Mäntyniemi, Vice President for Valmet’s Recovery business unit.

The partnership between Stora Enso and Valmet demonstrates a commitment to sustainable biomaterials innovation and the replacement of fossil-based materials with renewable and environmentally friendly alternatives.

About Stora Enso:
Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, and wooden construction, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. We believe that everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has approximately 21,000 employees and Group sales in 2022 of EUR 11.7 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm AB (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY).

About Valmet:
Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. With our automation systems and flow control solutions, we serve an even wider base of process industries. Our 17,500 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers’ performance forward – every day. The company has over 220 years of industrial history and a strong track record in continuous improvement and renewal. Valmet’s net sales in 2022 were approximately EUR 5.1 billion.

SOURCE: STORA ENSO OYJ