The new production facility is likely to be located near an existing Suzano pulp mill. Spinnova looks at the deal as one step ahead towards making its process and fibre ready for large-scale industrial production
Apr 3, 2024
Finnish fibre maker Spinnova has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with its strategic partner Suzano regarding a potential new production facility, which will produce around 20,000 tonnes of wood-based Spinnova fibre per year.
As per a statement, Spinnova and its partners will deliver the fibre production technology to Suzano, who will be the owner and operator of the new production facility, which is likely to be located near an existing Suzano pulp mill.
The pre-engineering phase of the new facility is expected to commence in the second half of 2024. Moving to pre-engineering is subject to Spinnova delivering a Process Design Package (PDP) for the new facility as well as Suzano´s strategic approval, and for certain process and fibre metrics at the Woodspin facility to be met.
“This marks a huge milestone for Spinnova in scaling our fibre technology by a technology sale to Suzano. Together with Suzano, we will continue to work intensely to reach the level where the Spinnova process and fibre are ready for large-scale industrial production”, comments Tuomas Oijala, Spinnova’s CEO.
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“Suzano sees great potential in Spinnova fibre and is willing to expand its production capacity in the long run. Integrating the new facility with Suzano’s existing infrastructure should provide additional synergies, critical for the business. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Spinnova to meet the final requirements for moving forward with the pre-engineering of the new facility”, continues Christian Orglmeister, Suzano’s Executive Officer – New Business, Strategy, IT and Digital.
The LOI is a non-binding agreement where parties wish to record certain criteria as requirements for moving into the pre-engineering phase of the new facility. It also includes preliminary terms and conditions for the new facility.
As Suzano will be responsible for finding the right funding for the investment into the new facility, Spinnova does not need to raise capital for this plant. The opportunity for Spinnova to invest in other future plants remains at Spinnova’s discretion.
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Spinnova and Suzano have been joint venture partners since 2020 in Woodspin, whose first production facility producing wood-based Spinnova fibre opened in 2023 in Jyväskylä, Finland.
The Woodspin factory acts as an industrial demonstration of Spinnova’s technology and Suzano’s textile MFC technology. It is used for qualifying the process and fibre output to support the investment decision for the new facility.
