Woodspin, the joint venture between sustainable textile material company Spinnova and its strategic partner, pulp company Suzano, is proceeding with its factory project in Central Finland according to the original schedule. The production spaces are expected to be ready for technology installations at the end of next summer, and for the factory to be completed by end of 2022. Spinnova uses a patented technology which enables it to make a cellulose-based fibre with no potentially hazardous chemicals or waste in the production process, cutting out 99 percent of the water used in conventional cotton production.
The technology has made strong progress over recent years, demonstrated through the partnerships Spinnova has forged with the likes of Finnish fashion house Marimekko and Norwegian outdoor apparel brand Bergans to develop apparel and accessories using its fibre.
Located on the South side of Jyväskylä in Central Finland, the new facility is the first commercial factory of Woodspin, a joint venture between Spinnova and Suzano, and a start to what will be some million tonnes of annual global volume of Spinnova fibre capacity within 10-12 years. The factory complex will include Spinnova’s and Suzano’s joint venture Woodspin’s fibre production, Suzano Finland’s micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) refining, as well as Spinnova’s headquarters and some of its product development functions.
Suzano, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil is a world leader in the production of eucalyptus pulp and has expanded its operations to create sustainable solutions derived from trees. In the joint venture, Spinnova will be the exclusive technology provider, while Suzano will ensure the supply of sustainably produced micro-fibrillated cellulose obtained from eucalyptus planted by Suzano in Brazil. The fibre produced will be sold under the Spinnova trademark. For Suzano, the MFC refining investment is the company’s first ever investment outside of Brazil. “Building an MFC facility next to the Woodspin factory is a very important milestone for us. We at Suzano believe in Spinnova’s technology that is the cornerstone of Woodspin,” said Director of Strategic Projects Ari Borg from Suzano Europe.
“The pulp is shipped to Finland in sheets, which mitigates the climate footprint of the logistics. Integrating the raw material refining into the fibre process is the most cost and energy efficient and climate friendly solution,” added Spinnova’s CEO and Co-Founder Janne Poranen.
With a process that uses no harmful chemicals and 99 percent less water than the cotton value chain, Spinnova fibre creates minimal CO2 emissions, is quickly biodegradable and contains no microplastics. The fact that these fibres can be recycled into a new fibre again and again makes the fibre disruptively circular. The technology enables tfibre production from wood but also from textile waste or agricultural waste such as wheat or barley straw.
Spinnova has also designed the factory’s energy solutions to ensure a low emission facility that runs on 100 percent renewable energy and recovered heat energy. In addition, the factory is planned to transfer excess energy back into the district heating network.
“The only side stream of our process is evaporated water that is fed back into the process for the most part. Thanks to our clean production method, we don’t need an environmental permit,” Poranen added.
The investment also brings both direct and indirect employment to the area. Besides the main contractor SRV, the project members are e.g. Arkkitehtipalvelu Oy on architecture, Vahanen Jyväskylä Oy on structural design and Elomatic Oy on heating, ventilation and air conditioning design. Preparing for the Spinnova technology delivery of the new factory is also proceeding as planned. Spinnova will update on that in early 2022.
