Kuura textile fibre is derived from softwood pulp obtained from forests owned by Metsä Group’s Finnish stakeholders.
Metsä said it created the Kuura textile fibre to transform Finnish timber into a distinct, high-value textile fibre without relying on fossil fuels. This material is suitable for crafting both fashionable garments and an array of technical textiles, claims the company.
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This phase of engineering is projected to extend until mid-2026.
The current project encompasses several components: the preliminary engineering for the first large-scale mill, refinement of the Kuura fibre manufacturing process, collaboration with customers to ensure a smooth market introduction, and securing an environmental permit as part of the plant’s preparatory framework.
This move signifies a strategic advancement in Metsä Group’s efforts to enhance value creation through wood-derived products.
Metsä Spring, the innovation arm of Metsä Group, is advancing the Kuura textile fibre initiative.
The journey towards this new textile fibre reached a pivotal point in 2020 with the launch of a demo plant in Äänekoski, Finland. After enhancements carried out in late 2022 and early 2023, the demo plant has been actively engaged in testing and development.
This demo plant has a nominal output capacity of around one tonne per day.
The goal of the pre-engineering project is to amass all necessary data and expertise to potentially greenlight the Kuura business venture.
Should Metsä Group decide to construct the mill, it is projected to yield an annual output of 100,000 tonnes (t) of textile fibre.
The earliest anticipated operational date for the facility in Finland would be 2029.
Earlier this month, the company announced that Etteplan has conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impact of the new fibre.
The LCA’s findings and comparative analysis with other cellulosic fibres have undergone a critical review by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
The LCA indicates that the carbon footprint of Kuura, measured in terms of global warming potential over 100 years (GWP100, fossil), is significantly lower than that of viscose, with Kuura’s impact being less than one-third.
When compared to cotton fibre, Kuura’s GWP is only a quarter and it exhibits an up to over 80% reduction in environmental impact relative to lyocell fibre, which is the nearest commercial product benchmark.
Approximately one year prior, Metsä Group initiated a pre-study on a commercial-scale Kuura mill to evaluate its feasibility and the overall business concept’s viability.
The pre-study yielded promising results, making the Kuura project highly promising and justifying the decision to proceed to the next phase, said Metsä Spring CEO Niklas von Weymarn.
Niklas von Weymarn said: “According to a recent study, the global warming impact of Kuura fibre is significantly lower than that of competing products when life-cycle emissions are taken into account. The good results are explained by the fact that the industrial production of Kuura would be linked to a Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill, which does not use fossil energy. The outcome of the study will give a boost to further development.”
