I’m hardly exaggerating if I say that everyone working on the Kuura textile fibre’s development is feeling great at the moment. Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring has been developing the production method for the Kuura textile fibre at a demo plant located in connection with the Äänekoski bioproduct mill since 2020, and in February 2025 this project took a new step towards the goal of building a commercial Kuura textile fibre mill.
This was a sign of joint success for those working with Kuura. Years of effort are now paying off! When you’re creating something that no one else has ever done before, there are bound to be ups and downs along the way, but successes like this inspire you to continue to solve any problems you encounter.
A recent life-cycle assessment of Kuura revealed that the climate-warming effect of Kuura is less than a third of the climate impact of viscose and only a quarter of that of cotton. Compared to the closest commercial reference product, Lyocell fibre, the difference is even greater: Kuura’s climate-warming effect is more than 80% smaller than that of Lyocell fibre.
Kuura stands out from its competitors thanks to the use of fossil-free energy in particular. The idea is to link the industrial production of Kuura with Metsä Group’s Äänekoski or Kemi bioproduct mill, which use no fossil fuels. For example, the energy self-sufficiency of the Äänekoski bioproduct mill is 240 per cent, which means that it produces more renewable energy than it consumes. This extra energy would be used by the potential Kuura mill.
You often hear news reports saying that the forest industry’s challenge is to increase the added value of wood products. This is true. It is also true that Metsä Group engages in research and development work to increase the degree of conversion – Kuura is just one example of this. The Group’s other products under development include Muoto packaging, lignin processing and carbon capture.
As the forest industry has a considerable impact on the Finnish economy, new breakthroughs would be excellent news for the country’s dynamism and competitiveness. Kuura fibre is made from pulp produced from northern softwood – the familiar raw material used in paper and paperboard production. It’s important to note that increasing the added value of wood products also means getting more from the same amount of raw material. The potential industrial production of Kuura would not affect felling levels in Finland, but would instead offer a way to convert in Finland some of the pulp now sold to the market. The industrial production of Kuura could also attract other value chain operators, generating new business for the further processing of textile fibre in Finland.
Kuura fibre can be used in the manufacture of clothing, home textiles, technical fabrics such as seat upholstery, and nonwoven products such as wipes and hygiene products. The textile fibre market is expected to grow to as much as USD 66 billion by 2030, and the demand for more sustainable textile fibres is already high. Our goal is to create an alternative to cotton, synthetic fibres made from fossil-based raw materials, and other wood-based fibres. Kuura fibre can be recycled in the same way as other wood-based fibres, and it does not cause problems involving microplastics as it is made from a renewable raw material.
The textile and clothing industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. The problem of overconsumption caused by fast fashion is a vast and complex phenomenon that can’t be solved by a single fibre innovation. However, Kuura can be part of the solution. This is a unique opportunity – not only on a Finnish but on a global scale.