A strengthened ecosystem for lignin development

Publicerat 16 June, 2022

CRIBE, the Canadian Research and Innovation Centre, visited LignoCity. The visit was an important part of the work to enable international collaborations linked to lignin.

In order to phase out fossil raw materials and replace them with renewable alternatives such as lignin, it is necessary to gather the right competence and find the right collaborations. For LignoCity, this means working across national borders. Thus, it was with great pleasure the Canadian delegation from CRIBE was welcomed to the test bed on 31 May.

“We have a lot in common with CRIBE. A closer collaboration with them could lead to a stronger development of the forest bioeconomy and, for example, the opportunity to bring the lignin to market”, says Paul Nemes, Vice President at Paper Province, who is involved in LignoCity.

Invaluable ecosystem

CRIBE is a Canadian innovation platform for the forest bioeconomy. They have a strong ecosystem that includes companies, universities, public innovation support actors, institutes, and others. CRIBE primarily operates in northwestern Ontario.

“Like us, the Canadian region has large forest areas and knowledge of how to add value to that resource. If we collaborate and combine our resources and ecosystems, there is a great potential linked to the development of lignin,” says Paul Nemes.

“It is valuable for Lignocity to make personal contact with a network that shares our challenges and opportunities. We have already started to discuss the possibilities of working together, within projects or a deeper collaboration,”,” says Robert Gustavsson, project manager at RISE and LignoCity.

A good example

The innovation system linked to LignoCity has come further in its development than the one in Canada. This made the visit very inspirational for CRIBE.

– “Throughout our visit to Sweden, we saw that collaboration and industry engagement are and will be, key in advancing the forest bioeconomy. LignoCity was a great example of private and public collaboration in an industrially relevant setting to develop and accelerate new technologies. It was also great to see the support and collaboration with start-ups in this setting. In the future we are hoping to continue our collaboration and open information sharing with LignoCity, Paper Province, and other partners to continue to accelerate the commercialization of lignin applications,” says Melissa Blackwell, CRIBE.

Location of international startups

During the visit, CRIBE also met Lixea and visit their new pilot plant at LignoCity. Lixea is a startup company with an innovative biomass fractionation process and a great example of the results that can come from international cooperation. It was the collaboration of several actors that made the London-based company choose to establish its test facility on the LignoCity site.