Spinnova and Suzano may open a new production facility

Spinnova Plc and Suzano S.A. have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the goal to develop wood-based Spinnova fibres. For this, the companies may need a new production facility, according to a press release seen by FashionUnited.

Spinnova and Suzano have been joint venture partners in Woodspin since 2020. The first production facility for wood-based Spinnova fibres was opened last year in Jyväskylä, Finland. Now they are working together to bring about a new production facility.

The plan: Spinnova will supply the technology to Suzano, which will be the owner and operator of the new production facility. The provisional target capacity of the facility is to produce 20 thousand tonnes of fibre per year. The potentially new Woodspin plant will serve as an industrial demonstration of Spinnova's technology and Suzano's textile MFC technology, according to the press release.

The pre-engineering phase is scheduled to start in the second half of 2024. The start date will depend on several factors, including when Spinnova delivers a Process Design Package (PDP) for the new facility, Suzano's strategic approval and certain process and fibre measurements at the Woodspin facility still to be done.

Tuomas Oijala, CEO of Spinnova, shared in the press release that the LOI is "a huge milestone for Spinnova" regarding "scaling up fibre technology through a technology sale to Suzano." Oijala added: "Together with Suzano, we will continue to work intensively to reach the level where the Spinnova process and fibre are ready for large-scale industrial production."

Christian Orglmeister, executive officer New Business, Strategy, IT and Digital at Suzano shared: "Suzano sees great potential in Spinnova fibre and is ready to expand its production capacity in the long term. Integrating the new facility with Suzano's existing infrastructure should bring additional synergies, essential for the company. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with Spinnova to meet the final requirements for continuing pre-engineering of the new facility."

According to the press release, Suzano will be responsible for finding the right financing for the investment in the new facility.