About
We’re creating a future that feels good.
Our Why
Our “Why” is that we want to make the world a better place with our skills and experience of cellulose. We want to help fill the textile industry’s sustainability deficit by offering the most sustainable fibre option available.
Our story
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.
Building the core team
Three key people from Juha’s research team, Pasi Selenius, Johanna Liukkonen and Sanna Haavisto, also joined at the very beginning. This was critical for the smooth start and successful development of the company. Still on a laboratory scale, the technology and the fibre were well on their way for the first real trials. Trial & error was in 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 commercialization. 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 finalizing product properties and production processes, while working on further prototypes with partners who share our passion for sustainability.
Meet Spinnova's visionaries
We are on a mission to create a more sustainable textile industry. One where cellulose-based materials are a cost-efficient, environmentally friendly and preferred option for brands.
We are now over 35 people. Here are the ones to be in touch with!
Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder
Janne Poranen
+358 400 138711
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Chief Technology Officer, Co-founder
Juha Salmela
+358 400 788 093
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Chief Commercial Officer
Lotta Kopra
+358 50 444 6000
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Business Development Director
Pia Qvintus
+358 50 563 4129
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Chief Financial Officer
Petri Poranen
+358 40 7687968
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Head of Communications
Emmi Berlin
+358 400 903260
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Sustainability Director
Shahriare Mahmood
+358 43 824 2469
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Application Manager
Maree Hamilton
+358 40 836 1954
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Contact
Excited about Spinnova? If you want to hear more about us or get involved, here’s how.
We are available for any questions or messages concerning us and our product. Please note that we send samples to selected partners only. As our fibre is not yet commercially available, we are also unable to reply to requests for quotes on price, quantity or quality. We’re a small, busy team and appreciate your patience in
waiting for a reply. Thank you.
General Enquiries
For all requests apart from careers, media or investors, please email us at
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Job Applications
To submit an open job application, please email us your resume at
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According to data security regulation, we can have your resume on file for six months at a time.
Media Enquiries
For interview, information and image requests, please email us at
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Investor Contacts
If you are an investor requesting a meeting or information, please email us at
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Our main location is Jyväskylä, Central Finland. Did you know Finland consists ~80% of forests? That’s why we know our wood. Our innovation derives from our deep expertise on cellulose and paper making.
Headquarters and Pilot Facility
Palokärjentie 2-4
40320 Jyväskylä
Finland
Helsinki Office
Eteläesplanadi 2
00130 Helsinki
Finland