JYVÄSKYLÄ, Finland — May 17, 2021 — Sustainable natural fibre company Spinnova and the world’s largest wood pulp producer Suzano have launched the construction of their joint venture smart factory in Finland. The facility, producing SPINNOVA® fiber, is the first step towards the ambition of scaling production volume to one million metric tons annually within 10 years.
Scaling to big volumes and providing the textile industry with a sustainable material that is competitively priced has been part of Spinnova’s vision from the start. Delivering one million metric tons of natural fiber capacity over 10 years would be a major step towards a more sustainable textile industry. Spinnova already works with global brand partners such as H&M Group and Bestseller.
Woodspin partners Spinnova and Suzano recently announced the 22 million euro investment to build the first commercial scale SPINNOVA fiber production facility in Finland. Construction has already started in Jyväskylä, and the sustainable, natural fiber is expected to be available at the end of 2022.
“We have created a modular and flexible technology that is easy to scale and set up around the world. That’s why we can scale according to the pace of demand,” explained Spinnova’s CEO and co-founder Janne Poranen.
Spinnova’s strategic partner Suzano is ready to increase volumes of Spinnova’s raw material, certified microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) to Woodspin in line with these plans. This has been part of Suzano’s long-term vision since their first investment in Spinnova in 2017.
“The first factory is a great start to realizing the vast, global opportunity of this innovation. We believe the Spinnova Technology will be highly scalable, and we support the ambition to ramp up the production in our joint venture to more than one million tons annual volume of SPINNOVA fiber within 10 years,” said Suzano’s New Business Executive Officer Vinícius Nonino.
In the Woodspin joint venture, Spinnova is the exclusive technology provider, while Suzano ensures the supply and quality of MFC. Spinnova has selected Valmet, a global leader in pulp and paper technology, as its partner to supply drying technology for the first SPINNOVA production line investment in Jyväskylä.
“We at Valmet are really excited to be part of this innovative approach to produce sustainable textiles from fiber based raw material. The fact that we want to support our customers in converting renewable resources into sustainable results, and that we are highly focused in R&D, makes us a good technology partner in this project,” said Jari Vähäpesola, Valmet’s Paper Business Line President.
Posted May 18, 2021
Source: Spinnova
