Metsä Board will explain at PCD (January 17-18, Paris) how to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging or drive innovation in your design by introducing a unique co-creation concept housed in the company's modern Center of Excellence.
At its stand, visitors will be able to see several new packaging concepts made from specially designed lightweight virgin wood fiber boards, including a new recyclable microchannel solution and that saves resources as an alternative to traditional rigid boxes. With the new design, the company presents a new gift box solution which uses less material and has a lower carbon footprint than traditional rigid boxes. The packaging consists of a separate base and lid made of microchannel. Its surface coating can be coated or uncoated white kraftliner.
Also on display will be the innovative new Muoto™ 3D fiber packaging solution that can be pressed into complex rounded shapes, with a packaging prototype co-designed by Metsä Spring and Fiskars Group that has found its form at the Metsä Center of Excellence. Board, combining the 3D inner packaging with a cardboard wrapper.
Metsä Group invests in the startup FineCell
Metsä Group has made its second Swedish investment in FineCell (FineCellOx AB), developer of the FineCell technology and producer of CellOx dry cellulose powder. The company will use the €1 million seed funding to improve its knowledge of materials application, engage with potential customers and finalize the material needed to make an investment decision for a demonstration production facility. The financing round led by the innovation company Metsä Spring of the Metsä Group is made up of a group of investors, including EIT InnoEnergy and the founder of the company.
FineCell technology can convert pulp into a biomaterial of added value that can be used both in powder and in aqueous solution, that is, a hydrogel. These can replace fossil-based chemicals in beauty and healthcare products, as well as paints. FineCell is a subsidiary of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
El CellOx material is manufactured using the new and innovative FineCell technology, which combines cellulose with a natural chemical: oxalic acid found e.g. Rhubarb: Producing a new material that is completely bio-based, lightweight to transport and, compared to other similar cellulose products, requires 80% to 90% less energy to manufacture. CellOx can easily transport other ingredients, making it an excellent binding agent for products such as sunscreens, skin creams, and paints. It is also transparent, allowing it to be used in a wide variety of products.
“The world is struggling to replace fossil-based materials with sustainable ones. “Our product, based on softwood pulp from Nordic forests, offers many industries an alternative to the components they currently use,” he says. Peter Axegård, CEO and co-owner of FineCell. “Metsä Spring has seen the potential of our innovation and, due to its knowledge in the planning, construction and operation of production plants, including pilots and demonstrations, and its access to raw materials linked to its ambition to improve Nordic wood, “They were the perfect choice to support us as we move forward.”
“We have followed FineCell for some time and are delighted to be part of their journey. For us, all technologies that convert softwood pulp into value-added products are of interest. This technology and product clearly stand out, which makes it especially interesting. FineCell technology is still young. At this moment we still do not know all the directions that this technological platform could take us,” he says. Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring.
FineCell aims to have its demonstration plant design ready for investment decision by the end of 2024. The company plans to have larger-scale trial production underway during 2025, with full commercial production beginning in 2027.
