Softwood fibres and oat hulls now run together as the next generation of paper pulp, with Södra launching Södra blue S at the Värö mill after more than a decade of internal R&D into agrofibre integration that has cleared campaign-based volumes. That is according to Annica Ahlstedt Larsson, Head of Product at Södra Cell, who confirmed the new process combines forest fibres and agrofibres directly in the pulp line, increasing yield and improving strength properties without compromising on quality.
The oat hulls used in Södra blue S come from Berte Qvarn, a local food producer located just south of Värö, with the short-distance supply route cutting transport requirements and building flow resilience into the agrofibre stream for the cooperative, owned by more than 53,000 forest members across southern Sweden. Hulls that previously had limited applications now serve as a co-input for paper pulp, turning a by-product of oat processing into a fibre source alongside the cooperative’s softwood thinnings, roundwood, and sawmill chips.
“This is a concrete step towards the circular fibre solutions of the future,” Ahlstedt Larsson said, with the launch broadening Södra’s softwood NBSK family — branded across Södra black, Södra blue and Södra green — without displacing the conventional product.
Wood Central understands that the new product is being scaled through Värö, one of the world’s largest softwood sulphate pulp operations, following Valmet’s 2016 rebuild, with conditions to be established by late 2025 to enable campaign-based volumes for paper customers across the Södra Cell book.
For Berte Qvarn, the partnership creates new value between forestry and agriculture, two industries that have traditionally operated side by side. “This collaboration shows what becomes possible when we look beyond our own value chains,” said Olof Stenström, CEO of Berte Qvarn, with the by-product from oat production now carrying a defined role in paper pulp.
Södra produces 1.9 million tonnes of pulp annually across three Swedish mills, with the Värö site now carrying the agrofibre programme into campaign-based volumes after late 2025 trials confirmed the technology and locked in the runnability conditions for paper customers.
