Metsä Group, a Finnish forest industry company, has invested EUR 1 million in FineCell, a Swedish startup developing a biomaterial called CellOx. The funding will be used to improve FineCell’s material application know-how, engage with potential customers, and finalise the material required for a demo production facility.
“The world is scrambling to replace fossil-based materials with sustainable ones. Our product, based on softwood pulp from Nordic forests, gives many industries an alternative to the components they are currently using,” says Peter Axegård, CEO and co-owner of FineCell.
The FineCell technology combines cellulose with oxalic acid, a natural chemical found in rhubarb, to produce a biobased material that requires 80-90% less energy to manufacture than other similar cellulose products. The FineCell technology can turn pulp into added-value biomaterial that can be used both as a powder and as a water solution, i.e., a hydrogel. These can replace fossil-based chemicals in beauty and healthcare products, as well as in paints. CellOx is transparent and can easily carry other ingredients, making it an excellent binding agent for products such as sunscreens, skin creams, and paints.
Metsä Spring, Metsä Group’s innovation company, led the funding round and was joined by EIT InnoEnergy and FineCell’s founder. Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring, said that the company was interested in all technologies that convert softwood pulp into added-value products and that FineCell’s technology stood out as especially interesting. FineCell aims to have its demo plant ready for investment decision by the end of 2024 and plans to have larger-scale test production underway during 2025 with full commercial production commencing in 2027.
