About Spinnova

Our Mission

We are on a mission to transform the raw material base of the global textile ecosystem with our technology.

We innovate and engineer the most sustainable textile fibre in the world.

We do this for the benefit of the planet, because that is what matters most.

Spinnova

Spinnova technology transforms the way textiles are manufactured globally. Based in Finland, Spinnova has developed breakthrough patented technology for making textile fibre from wood pulp or waste, such as leather, textile or agricultural cropping waste, without harmful chemicals or dissolving.

Spinnova technology creates no side streams in the fibre production process, and the SPINNOVA® fibre has minimal CO2 emissions and water use, as well as being biodegradable and recyclable. Spinnova technology uses a mechanical process which gives the fibre the look and feel of a natural cellulosic fibre such as cotton.

Our values

Strong values help us create positive impact.

We at Spinnova adhere to five core values in our every-day work: trust, courage, sustainability, innovation and teamwork. All these values have specific meaning to us.

Spinnova's history

It all started with spiderweb

It was 2009. Technical Research Centre of Finland’s (VTT) cellulose expert Juha Salmela was researching nanocellulose. He attended a conference in Oxford university and heard a presentation from a leading spider researcher, who explained the similarities between spiderweb’s protein and nanocellulose.

That’s when an idea came to Juha: what if wood fibre could be spun into textile fibre in a similar way to this natural process? The professor immediately thought it was something Juha should look into and develop.

Spinning off

As part of an EU project, Juha and VTT began to take the innovation forward and soon applied for a patent for the idea. The innovation was fostered in VTT for some time. Once seeing this was the most prominent innovation within the nano and microcellulose field that he had ever seen, Janne Poranen, Head of Biomaterials research area at VTT, made a decision to spin the business off.

Janne asked Juha to join in and when getting a yes, the story of Spinnova began quickly. With the support of the first investors including the VTT, Spinnova was founded by Juha and Janne in January 2015. Juha and Janne was joined by three key people from Juha’s research team, Pasi Selenius, Johanna Liukkonen and Sanna Haavisto.

Still, on a laboratory scale, the technology and the fibre were well on their way for the first actual trials. Trial & error was at the core of this courageous learning journey, and the right concept was starting to take shape.

Scaling up to a pilot

After laboratory scale R&D, the technology was scaled up to a continuous pilot scale that was specifically built for this and completed at the end of 2018. A large industrial scale pilot did not take long to build according to Juha's vision, but the intricacies of such greenfield tech and a completely novel fibre took a while to optimize. At this point, several globally renown brand owners had already taken an interest in the fibre, and some were already working with us on joint R&D.

Preparing for commercial phase

In 2020, our journey is on the verge of commercialisation. The technology has been scaled up from a small pilot scale to an industrial pilot scale. With our committed brand partners, we have introduced the first demo products made of the fibre. Now, we are finalising product properties and production processes, while working on further prototypes with partners who share our passion for sustainability.

Speeding up growth

In 2021, we have taken concrete steps towards our commercial phase. We have announced plans of scaling our production up with our partner Suzano, in a joint venture that will build our first commercial factory in Finland. The new factory is estimated to start operations at the end of 2022, producing the purest materials available for our brand partners. In June, we successfully listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki First North Growth Market to finance our further growth and scaling.

Ramping up production

In 2023, we officially opened the first commercial-scale facility producing wood-based SPINNOVA® fibre with Suzano, the world's largest pulp producer. Operated by Woodspin — Spinnova's and Suzano’s joint venture — the plant has the capacity to produce 1,000 tonnes of sustainable, recyclable, and fully biodegradable textile fibre from responsibly grown wood each year.

Updating strategy and focusing on selling technology

Spinnova updated its strategy and focuses on selling its fibre technology. In March, Spinnova and Suzano signed a Letter of Intent regarding the planning of a 20kt Spinnova fibre factory, owned and operated by Suzano.

Our leadership team

We are on a mission to create a more sustainable textile industry.