The European Union is helping pulp and paper producers green up consumer packaging by investing in new cellulose technology to develop far more eco-friendly packaging. As a key part of the European Union’s Green Deal, the state-owned European Investment Bank (EIB) is now assisting Europe’s manufacturers in developing new “state-of-the-art” technology that creates lighter materials with greater resource efficiency.
Earlier this week, Stora Enso—one of the world’s largest forest companies—secured a €435 million loan to support the development of its fibre-based consumer packaging division. Wood Central understands that the loan will aid Stora Enso in delivering on its €1 billion investment in building a state-of-the-art supersized Oulu mill in northern Finland – with the new facility producing renewable and circular packaging solutions to replace plastic products in food and personal care.
The loan, structured with amortisation and final repayment in 2036, will enhance the company’s debt maturity profile. Stora Enso aims to transform the Oulu mill into one of Europe’s most advanced and cost-efficient packaging production sites.
“This investment supports our strategy in renewable packaging by providing new volume for the growing market,” according to Hannu Kasurinen, the Executive Vice President of the Stora Enso Packaging Materials Division, who added that with the new production line, Stora Enso will increase its capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes of sustainable packaging starting from next year.
What makes Stora Enso’s Oulu Mill unique?
According to Stora Enso, the packaging will be treated with a patented FiberLight TecTM fibre treatment technology, “which helps customers gain material efficiency and, thus, lower carbon emissions for the final packaging.”
“Simply put, FiberLight TecTM helps create lighter boards with excellent strength and stiffness properties, but with less raw material used,” Stora Enso said, with Malin E. Strömberg, Technical Product Manager & Product Development Manager at Stora Enso, adding:
“The board becomes more than 5% lighter than it would be without the treatment…this benefits our customers, as their packaging becomes lighter, which means they can produce the same amount of packaging with less material and lower emissions, also during transport.”
Using chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) and micro fibrillated cellulose (MFC), which together give the board strength, “when the different plies of the board come together, we can achieve the right stiffness and bulkiness, with less fibre used. This way, we can offer a strong but light board with great material efficiency for our customers,” Mr Strömberg said.
Beyond fibre treatment technology, Stora Enso has also made strong investments in making the consumer board production at the Oulu Mill as resource-efficient as possible. The new production line, which will be the most competitive folding box board machine in Europe, is planned to enable optimal production efficiency while meeting high environmental standards, such as excellent heat recovery.
Stora Enso and its technology provider have developed a concept that maximises material efficiency throughout the paperboard machine to achieve high production volume. The concept enables flexibility and great production output at the highest quality level while minimising energy use. The result is top-product boards with excellent stiffness, outstanding smoothness, and printability.
Wood Central understands that once completed, the new production line will have very low CO2 emissions and low water usage, coupled with high resource efficiency. “Thus, it can provide customers with a reliable supply of lightweight, high-quality renewable and recyclable food packaging materials,” according to Stora Enso.
- To learn how Stora Enso and other Finnish forest giants are now using cellulose and lignin to make the next generation of wood products, visit Wood Central’s special feature.
