The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of May 23rd, 2018

#7 Stora Enso launches wood-based biocomposites as renewable replacement for plastic

In Finland, Stora Enso launched its wood-based biocomposites, DuraSense, as a replacement for fossil-based plastics. The DuraSense product family is suitable for a wide range of applications from consumer goods to industrial applications, such as furniture, hand tools, automotive parts, beauty and lifestyle products, toys, kitchen utensils and bottle caps, among other uses. The DuraSense granules are a combination of natural wood fibers, polymers and additives offering the mouldability of plastic with the sustainability and workability of wood.

The production of biocomposites began in 2018 at Stora Enso’s Hylte Mill in Sweden, following the EUR 12 million investment announced in 2017. At full production, the mill’s annual production capacity is 15 000 tonnes, which is the largest capacity in Europe dedicated to wood fibre composites.