[Funding alert] Stockholm-based FineCell Secures €1 Million in Funding

With the help of the funds, an experimental production facility for the FineCell technology—which transforms dry pulp fibre into an important biomaterial that can be utilised as a powder or a water solution (hydrogel)—will be planned and developed further.

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These can take the role of chemicals derived from fossil fuels in industries like commercial paint manufacture and the manufacturing of healthcare and beauty products. A spinoff of Stockholm, Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology, is called FineCell.

Dr. Peter Axegård, CEO and co-owner of FineCell said, “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, 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.”

The pulp-based materials are produced using the cutting-edge FineCell technology, which blends cellulose made from pulp with oxalic acid, a naturally occurring substance present in, among other plants, rhubarb. The result is a new material that is easily stored in solid form but is frequently used in liquid form.

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Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring said, “We’ve been following FineCell for some time and are delighted to now be part of their journey. For us, all technologies that convert softwood pulp into added-value products are of interest. This technology and product clearly stand out, making it especially interesting. The FineCell technology is still young. At this stage, we do not yet know all the directions that this platform might take us,”.

By the end of 2024, FineCell aims to have the design of its demonstration facility ready for construction. The company plans to start larger-scale test production in 2025 and fully launch commercial manufacturing in 2027.

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Axegård added. “Our goal is to bring our biobased material to more and more sectors, thus replacing fossil-based materials and also increasing the performance of the product. This, in turn, would require scaling up production to the point where we are making a large impact on products people use in their everyday lives. Our story has just begun, and we cannot wait to embark on the next stage in our journey,”.

About FineCell

FineCell may offer solutions that meet both current market demands and those that the market will likely have in the near future. The technology that served as the foundation for FineCell was first developed in 2013 at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It has since been patented and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

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We continue to collaborate closely on technological development with several universities and institutes, including KTH Royal Institute of technological, a world leader in the study of polymers and materials derived from renewable resources.