The Finnish deep tech business ‘Fiberwood’, launched in 2019 by Tage Johansson, is helping the transition towards sustainable growth and green living. The new eco-friendly wood fire insulation functions by using leftover wood fibres after a tree’s main portion has been treated.
Fiberwood hopes to change the world of insulation and packaging towards a less-waste environment, with better living conditions and cleaner, healthier indoor air in buildings. Fiberwood’s insulation products will give better fire safety with clean and non-harmful fire retardant concepts, better moisture transmission and no mould built-up.
Tage Johansson, Fiberwood CEO, said, “we are contributing towards a more sustainable future by using side streams, producing high-value products energy efficiently, and by accelerating the potential of wood-based construction. We are grateful to our investors for believing in our product’s potential, and for the opportunity to use Metsä Group’s forest industry side streams as raw material.”
Recently, the company has been awarded €3 million in funding led by Metsa Spring, with participation from Stephen Industries and public finance from Business Finland. The funding will be used to develop and scale up the production capabilities of its pilot plant as it heads into industrial-level continuous production.
Fiberwood’s bio-based, plastic-free, and compostable insulation sheets are made from wood pulp and side streams from the mechanical wood industry with special foam-forming technology. The insulation sheets include natural traits of trees as well as air pockets that increase the material’s insulation capabilities. The products are carbon negative as they store and bind carbon dioxide to the wood for as long as it exists. The insulation sheets are easy, safe, and quick to install. Once they are ready to be recycled, the insulation sheets will biodegrade into plastic-free soil.
Karita Kinnunen-Raudaskoski, Fiberwood’s Director of Technology and Product Development, said, “since last September, in our first phase of production we have been able to produce commercial-sized insulation boards for testing. Next, we will build a continuous pilot line for production-scale product and process development. As no existing machinery and processes can produce our products, we need to invent new technology to do so.”
“Our innovative foam-forming production process is more energy-efficient and uses less water than similar processes in general, so we promote the goal of sustainable development by using side streams, producing high-value products energy-efficiently, and promoting wood construction.”
The construction industry is responsible for up to 40 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, so innovations like the technology developed by Fiberwood are much needed to reduce the industry’s emission production and promote completely wood-based construction. According to Fiberwood, wood construction is estimated to grow from 10% to 30% in EU countries by 2050.
Approximately 75% of buildings in Northern Europe are energy inefficient and responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Fiberwood helps promote energy efficiency and cleaner inside air while reducing environmental waste in the construction industry.
Sources: Fiberwood, Crunchbase, Metsagroup