By coming together, different industries can find new solutions to help answer the global challenges of today, such as mitigating the effects of global warming, pollution or the large amounts of plastics and other non-degradable waste that end up in oceans and landfills. Stora Enso and RenCom are taking big steps towards replacing fossil-based materials together. Through this collaboration, Stora Enso and RenCom have agreed on an industrial scale supply of Lineo™ by Stora Enso (lignin) to RenCom’s newly built demo plant unit near Stockholm, Sweden, where RenCom produces more sustainable and biodegradable polymers.
Stora Enso’s award-winning Lineo™ will be used by RenCom as a raw material to produce RENOL®. This sustainable material will be introduced as a competitor to normal plastic bags, infill materials in football pitches and replacement of packaging plastics, as well as advanced materials for the automotive industry in early 2021.
Lignin is one of the main components of wood, it gives strength to trees binding the cells together. Lignin is also the biggest by-product on earth, with great energy value, which means that lignin has mainly been incinerated for energy in pulp and paper production, overlooking the value of this raw material for too long. Stora Enso has been among the pioneers to extract lignin and study possible other end-uses for this bio-based raw material. RenCom can upcycle lignin to produce high quality granulates for the plastic industry.
“We at RenCom are proud to announce the collaboration with Stora Enso, a pioneer in the lignin industry, with the largest production of kraft lignin in the world. It is an important step in our development and expansion, securing raw materials for the start of production in thousands of tonnes to produce our patent-protected material - RENOL®. This collaboration also contributes to the creation of a strong Nordic supply chain” says Christopher Carrick, founder and CEO of RenCom.
Together with Stora Enso, RenCom continues to optimise the use of Lineo™ to discover further advantages in the bio-material market when replacing many fossil-based polymers.
For further information, please contact:
Ingrid Peura, SVP Communications, Stora Enso Biomaterials
Part of the bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper. We believe that everything that is made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has some 25 000 employees in over 30 countries. Our sales in 2019 were EUR 10.1 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Nasdaq Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY). storaenso.com
About RenCom
RenCom is a Swedish innovation company that transforms lignin, the most abundant unused biopolymer on earth, into a renewable and functional biomaterial called RENOL®. RenCom aims to supply the plastic industry with high performance granulates that will be converted into plastic bags, packaging materials or injection moulded pieces. The material has been tried out by several partners in the plastic field and the end products, containing RENOL®, will be on the market already year 2021. RenCom is supported by BioInnovation and the Swedish energy department to create and produce biomaterials based on lignin. For more information, please visit www.lignin.se
