Spinnova Plc and Suzano SA have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The goal: the development of wood-based Spinnova fibers. To do this, companies may need a new production facility. Spinnova announced this in a statement available to FashionUnited.
Spinnova and Suzano have been Woodspin’s joint venture partners since 2020. The first wood-based Spinnova fiber production facility opened last year in Jyväskylä, Finland. Now they are working together on a new production facility.
According to the plan, Spinnova will supply the technology to the bioeconomy company Suzano, which will own and operate the new production facility. The plant’s preliminary capacity target is to produce 20,000 tons of fiber per year. The potential new Woodspin facility will serve as an industrial demonstration facility for Spinnova’s technology and Suzano’s textile MFC technology, according to the press release.
The pre-engineering phase is scheduled to begin in the second half of the year. The start date depends on several factors, including when Spinnova submits a Process Design Package (PDP) for the new facility, strategic approval from Suzano, and certain outstanding process and fiber measurements at the Woodspin facility.
Tuomas Oijala, CEO of Spinnova, shares that the MOU is a major milestone for Spinnova to expand fiber technology through a technology sale to Suzano. “Together with Suzano, we will continue to work intensively to make the Spinnova process and the fiber ready for large-scale production,” says Oijala.
Christian Orglmeister, Executive Officer New Business, Strategy, IT and Digital at Suzano, explains: “Suzano sees great potential in the Spinnova fiber and is ready to expand its production capacity in the long term. The integration of the new facility into Suzano’s existing infrastructure is expected “We will bring additional synergies that are important to the company. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Spinnova to meet the final requirements for further preliminary planning of the new facility.”
According to the press release, Suzano will be responsible for finding the right financing to invest in the new facility.
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl