Spinnova and Suzano announce Woodspin scaling ambition to 1 million tonnes of annual capacity by 2031

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® fibre, is the first step towards­ the ambition of scaling production volume to one million tonnes annually within ten 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 tonnes of natural fibre capacity over ten 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® fibre production facility in Finland. Construction has already started in Jyväskylä, and the sustainable, natural fibre 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, explains Spinnova’s CEO and co-founder Janne Poranen.

Spinnova’s strategic partner Suzano is ready to increase volumes of Spinnova’s raw material, certified micro-fibrillated 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 realising 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® fibre within 10 years, says 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, says Jari Vähäpesola, Valmet’s Paper Business Line President.

Suzano

Suzano is a global reference in developing sustainable and innovative solutions from renewable sources, guided by its purpose of renewing life inspired by trees. It is the world’s leading eucalyptus pulp producer and one of Latin America’s largest paper producers, playing a part in the lives of over 2 billion people from its 11 mills across Brazil and the joint operation Veracel. The company, whose history for over 97 years, has an installed capacity of 10.9 million tons of market pulp and 1.4 million tons of paper a year, and exports to more than 100 countries. Its operations are based on Innovability - Innovation at the service of Sustainability - and on the highest levels of social, environmental and corporate governance practices, and its shares are traded on stock exchanges in Brazil and the United States.

Valmet

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2020 were approximately EUR 3.7 billion. Our 14,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.