Cellulose foam by Stora Enso wins 'Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year'

Cellulose foam was among six nominees up for the award, all recognised for the development of new technologies and applications in the cellulose fibre industry.

Cellulose foam by Stora Enso is a lightweight wood fiber-based foam material for protective and cushioning material in packaging. This novel, sustainable foam material has been designed to be fully natural and the technology offers a biodegradable alternative to a wide range of products.

The lightweight and shock absorbing properties make it an especially attractive alternative for protective packaging applications. In this space, environmental concerns are currently driving regulatory efforts towards limiting, or banning, the use of traditional fossil-based foam materials, such as polyethylene (PE) foam and expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly known as Styrofoam. The environmentally friendly production process of cellulose foam results in a material that is renewable and that can be fully recycled with regular paper and board. Our cellulose foam is a game changing cutting-edge material created for a circular bioeconomy.

Development work and scale-up around this technology is ongoing along with the building of a pilot facility at Stora Enso’s Fors Mills in Sweden. The pilot aims to evaluate and validate cellulose foam as a packaging foam in customer tests and to further develop the production process. It is estimated that the plant will be ready in the fourth quarter of 2021.