Inno Energy invests in lignin separation tech to cut emissions and harmful discharge

17 Sep 2024 --- Inno Energy has invested €1 million (US$1.1 million) in Finland-based biomaterials pioneer Lign Easy, specializing in a new lignin separation technology. Lign Easy aims to curb carbon emissions in the pulp industry and replace fossil-based raw materials with its renewable “forest-based” feedstock.

The investment presents new opportunities for the start-up’s redesign of traditional practices in kraft pulp mills.

Jonas Nordlund, investment manager at EIT Inno Energy Scandinavia, believes Lign Easy will play a “significant role” in decarbonizing “multiple industries.”

“Its innovative approach to lignin separation not only addresses the significant wastage in kraft pulp mills but also opens up new avenues for sustainable bioproducts, transforming lignin from a waste product into a valuable resource,” he comments.

Reducing harmful discharge

Over 15 million tons of lignin, a natural polymer that is one of the main constituents of wood, are burned by European kraft pulp mills for energy annually.

Instead of burning the resource, Lign Easy’s patented technology separates lignin for use in high-value applications such as plywood, construction materials and bio-components in plastics and packaging, providing sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products.

Unlike existing lignin separation systems that can cause harmful sulfate discharge to the environment, Lign Easy uses a sulfuric-acid-free separation technology and a novel filtration-based purification method.

This innovation produces high-value lignin while reducing pulp mill emissions and providing the chemical industry with a renewable feedstock in the form of an odorless, bio-based raw material.

The lignin is available as liquid concentrate or dried powder. It is ready for direct use in several products or possible chemical modification for broader applicability.

The funding will build on Lign Easy’s previous EIC Accelerator grant, enabling the full development of its pilot plant expected to support a production capacity of 1 ton daily later this year.

Overcoming lignin wastage challenges

In the plastics sector alone, achieving the net zero target by 2050 will require an annual production of 100–230 million tons of bioplastics, compared to the current global production of just 2 million tons, according Inno Energy.

Lign Easy’s technology is poised to play a “crucial role” in meeting this substantial demand for sustainable materials, it stresses.

Juho-Matti Karpale, CEO at Lign Easy, says: “This investment marks a major milestone for our company and one that will help us to scale up our efforts to decarbonize the pulp and chemical industries.”

“There are currently major issues with lignin wastage, a technology gap in achieving separation sustainably and a pressing need to provide the chemical industry with eco-friendly alternatives to fossil-based raw materials. Our technology delivers solutions to these problems, and with access to EIT Inno Energy’s ecosystem, we are now better placed than ever before to deliver them to the market.”

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