In Sweden, Metsä Spring, Metsä Group’s innovation company, has made a second investment in FineCell, producer of CellOx dry cellulose powder and hydrogels for beauty, healthcare, and paint products. The €1 million seed funding round will be used to boost material application research, engage with potential customers, and finalize the plan for a demo production facility towards the end of 2024.
Metsä Spring leads a group of investors, including EIT InnoEnergy and the company’s founder. The funds will be used to further develop and plan a demo production facility for the FineCell technology that can turn dry pulp fiber into added-value biomaterial that can be used both as a powder and as a water solution. These can replace fossil-based chemicals in sectors like beauty and healthcare products as well as commercial paint production.
“The world is scrambling to replace fossil-based materials with sustainable ones. Our product, based on softwood pulp from sustainably managed Nordic forest, gives many industries an alternative to the components they are currently using,” says Dr. Peter Axegård, CEO and co-owner of FineCell. “Metsä Spring has seen the potential in our innovation, and due to their know-how in planning, constructing and operating production plants, including pilots and demos, and their access to the raw material linked to their ambition to upgrade Nordic wood, they were the perfect choice to support us as we move forward.”
FineCell is a spinout of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.