GET TO KNOW KUURA
Kuura from Finland to the world A unique wood-based textile fibre named Kuura is made from pulp. Its raw material is wood from sustainably managed Finnish forests.
JENNY BELITZ-HENRIKSSON, photo METSÄ GROUP
There is nothing special about textile fibres as such; more than 100 million tonnes of them are produced in the world every year. The most important raw material for textile fibre is fossil oil, which is used to make, for in- stance, polyester fibres. The second most common raw material for textile fibre is cotton. It is significant that the manufacturing methods for both of these put a lot of strain on the environment. “Wood-based textile fibres are already manufactured on a large scale, but only about a third of them can be produced sustainably. Our goal is to develop a better concept for society and the environment,” says Niklas von Weymarn , CEO of Metsä Spring, Metsä Group’s in- novation company. Wood-based textile fibres are usually made from dis- solving pulp. Metsä Group’s idea, in contrast, is to make textile fibre from Metsä Fibre’s paper pulp – and this is completely unique. DEBUT AT JAPAN FASHION WEEK Von Weymarn talks about an advanced direct-disso- lution method that came into existence more than 10 years ago. At that time, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University co-developed a new chemical for Metsä Fibre for dissolving paper pulp efficiently. Since then, Metsä Spring and the Japanese ITOCHU Corporation have established a joint venture, which has born fruit in the form of the demonstration plant that makes the unique textile fibre named Kuura. The demo plant operates alongside the Äänekoski bioproduct mill. Kuura was launched in March 2021 together with ITOCHU and the clothing brand THE RERACS at the Japan Fashion Week. However, clothes made of Kuura are not yet on sale.
“Before we can produce Kuura commercially, we have some issues involving technology and the market. We are trying to resolve these at the demonstration plant and together with ITOCHU. The demonstration phase is likely to last at least until the end of 2022,” says von Weymarn. GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT RESULTS The undried paper pulp used for making Kuura textile fibre is produced at Metsä Fibre’s Äänekoski bioproduct mill. Kuura, in turn, is being developed at the demon- stration plant that operates in conjunction with the bi- oproduct mill. The steam, water and electricity needed to make Kuura are obtained from the bioproduct mill. This means that Kuura’s production is fossil-free and utilises the Ääne- koski bioproduct mill’s partner ecosystem. In spring 2021, the private Spanish research institute CARTIF assessed the environmental and social perfor- mance of Kuura in relation to commercial textile fibres. The results were very good. The environmental performance of Kuura proved to be better and its impact on climate change smaller than cotton and other commercial cellulose fibres, such as viscose and lyocell. Von Weymarn praises Metsä Group’s willingness to take the risks that developing new products always in- volves, and says that credit for the initial development work belongs primarily to Metsä Fibre and its partners at the time. ”Kuura is an excellent example of a new kind of po- tential innovation based on the advanced processing of pulp that can be produced within Metsä Fibre’s bio- product mill concept.” •
Niklas von Weymarn CEO of Metsä Spring. Before taking up his current position he served as Vice President, Research at Metsä Fibre from 2012 to 2018.
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