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Metsä Group will launch a pre-study for the first commercial mill producing the Kuura textile fibre. Kuura is one of the spearhead projects of Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring. The goal is to increase the refinement of pulp sustainably and efficiently.
Produced from softwood pulp, the Kuura textile fibre is a new material developed by Metsä Group, in which Finnish wood is converted into a sustainable product with high added value – without fossil fuels. The textile fibre has been researched and developed at the Äänekoski demo plant, among other places. The new pre-study is the first planning stage of a potential commercial mill project.
During the pre-study, the size of the mill investment – and the profitability of the business idea – will be determined. According to plans, the pre-study will last for roughly a year, after which the mill planning can proceed to a more detailed pre-engineering stage.
“We’ve been systematically developing the Kuura textile fibre at our Äänekoski demo plant since 2020 to meet the growing demand for more sustainable textile fibres. If realised, the Kuura mill will provide the required conditions for Finnish commercial textile fibre production, while generating significant new added value in Finland,” says Metsä Spring’s CEO Niklas von Weymarn.
The Kuura textile fibre is produced from softwood pulp, the raw material of which is sourced from Metsä Group’s Finnish owner-members’ forests. The vision is to develop a more environmentally friendly raw material for the apparel and non-woven industries. During the pre-study, the environmental impact will be examined through a standardised life cycle assessment methodology.
If realised, the first Kuura mill will be constructed next to Metsä Group’s modern bioproduct mills in either Äänekoski or Kemi.
“If the textile fibre mill was integrated into our bioproduct mill, the process could use renewable energy generated by the neighbouring mill and take advantage of various closed cycles. Also, all pulp, the main raw material of Kuura fibre would come from certified Finnish forests within a radius of roughly a hundred kilometres from the production site,” von Weymarn says.
The operating mill would employ around 250 people, and annual production would amount to approximately 100 thousand tonnes. However, no exact figures have yet been determined.
Metsä Group’s partner, the Itochu Textile Company from Japan, has already surveyed the international markets’ interest in Kuura. Among other things, Itochu has brought to the market a few fashion collections and most recently, a sample of Metsä Group’s work coat in cooperation with Lindström Oy.
“As part of the pre-study, we’ve already initiated a significant cooperation with Andritz, which has delivered a part of our Äänekoski bioproduct mill and some of the equipment for our Kuura demo plant. The goal of the cooperation is, among other things, to develop a pulp pre-treatment method, smart forms of integrating the textile fibre production to a bioproduct mill’s different departments, and the level of production automation for the Kuura concept,” says von Weymarn.
The Kuura textile fibre in a nutshell
- Kuura is a new textile fibre produced responsibly and sustainably from softwood pulp.
- The fibre consists of natural biodegradable carbohydrates.
- The fibre is fully traceable to the forest. The raw material is obtained within a radius of around 100 kilometres from the textile fibre production site.