The hard coal produced under the brand name Lignode is a good example of resource wisdom and carbon efficiency, which the forest industry also needs. More and more products made from raw materials, fewer carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere from the energy combustion of raw materials.
Lignode is also about significantly increasing the value added in production – the carbon material, which is separated from the black liquor produced as a side stream of the Sunila pulp mill, processed to a super-dry state and further processed, is sold at a good price per kilo – not priced per ton like traditional forest industry products.
Director of Lignode Business Juuso Konttinen According to him, lignin is a great opportunity in many ways.
“We have a renewable raw material that is already in our process. We don't need to import it from anywhere. We don't need to increase our wood consumption to produce hard carbon.”
Collaboration with battery and car manufacturers
Stora Enso has already started a collaboration with Swedish battery cell and system manufacturer Northvolt. The aim is to develop the world’s first battery manufactured on an industrial scale using only European raw materials. Industrial-scale battery production would not only reduce the carbon footprint but also reduce costs – instead of using genuine graphite that is synthetically produced or mined, the anode material for the batteries is obtained from a wood-based lignin derivative.
Project-based cooperation has also been initiated with the Swedish Polestar. The Polestar 0 project aims to create an electric car with a climate-neutral production chain by 2030. However, achieving full climate neutrality across the entire value chain is a challenge for a very versatile product like a car. In the project, Stora Enso is promoting the climate neutrality of the car battery with its bio-based anode material.
Sustainability and electrification as drivers
Both examples of collaboration show that there is demand for the bio-based hard carbon developed by Stora Enso.
According to Juuso Konttinen, the electrification of the world and the resulting increase in demand for batteries have a large and very direct practical impact on Lignode's market potential.
"It certainly gives a lot of extra impetus to the use of the material. There is currently a great need for this kind of unique material."
However, the market potential also includes other dimensions besides electrification.
"The environmental sustainability of lignin products is generally the most important driver of demand. Graphite is a fossil or mining product, which does not rank high in the sustainability criteria. Another significant reason for demand is the desire for local value creation. Europe does not have the critical raw materials needed for battery production. Thus, geopolitical tensions also increase the value of a graphite-replacement material like Lignode," Konttinen points out.
Lignin is also on the rise. Specially dried lignin, obtained from black liquor, a by-product of pulp production, is already used in many applications and industries – for example, in the adhesive and paint industry, wood construction, and as a substitute for bitumen in asphalt.
A larger facility is planned
Stora Enso's bio-based carbon materials pilot plant is located at the company's Sunila mill, which has been producing extra dry lignin industrially since 2015.
The annual lignin production capacity is currently 50 tonnes, making Stora Enso the world's largest producer of kraft lignin.
Stora Enso is also conducting a feasibility study for a larger plant in Sunila. This would enable industrial-scale Lignode production for larger production volumes.
Stora Enso's weak first quarter results are, however, affecting strategic investments. The scheduling of the battery materials processing project in Sunila, Kotka, will also be reviewed (Kauppalehti 25.4.)
