Sustainability and Value Creation

Sustainability is built into everything we innovate and do. To prove it in practice, we want to show real, concrete results. The results are the WOODMER® products.

We believe in certain values that steer the passion. Observing the world to start with. Especially nature is important in creating “A-ha!” moments that create solutions shaping our world. It starts with technology, but we are business minded and value on reliability and delivering what is agreed.

Contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals

We are a responsible company and contribute to the positive development to protect our planet and to promote well-being and prosperity. Ecohelix is following and contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals in several fields.

We provide innovative solutions for a greener and more resilient industry

Ecohelix puts innovation for the industry at the core of all its actions. From the tight collaboration with the host mill, to long term partnerships with chemical companies and final off takers, we strive for mutual benefits and seek widespread societal effects. This is done through an open mindset, where interested partners are enabled to explore the use of WOODMER® in their production.

For example, we are currently part of several collaborations to explore WOODMER®’s potential in a wide range of industries, including construction, textile and cosmetics sectors. The results? Often equal and even better performance than the fossil-based reference material. This implies that going green does not require industry leaders to compromise on quality, but rather an opportunity to develop new and better products.

We are proud to see that the interest for our product is large and widespread, as word of the mouth seems to be our way to success. Behind this, lies a decade of hard work and a patented solid innovation with potential for up-scaling.

We create employment opportunities in rural communities and substitute harmful materials with wood-based ones

Ecohelix contributes to sustainable cities and communities in many ways:

WOODMER® production is closely tied to pulp mills and cellulose production. These mills tend to be located close to the forests, which naturally means rural areas that have traditionally phased migration issues, as the youth move into cities. WOODMER® production means income diversification and hence a better economy for the host mill, as well as new exciting job opportunities around the production plant. This is in line with Sweden’s and the EUs strive for ”thriving rural communities”.

The EU Green Deal and the EU Industrial Strategy aim for an independent and resilient EU. By substituting fossil-based polymers with WOODMER®, manufacturers can avoid logistical challenges and enjoy short and transparent supply chains. The factories and surrounding communities also enjoy significantly lower GHG emissions and less exposure to harmful plastics.

WOODMER® is the natural choice for the responsible customer, with remarkably low carbon footprint, improved circularity and low opportunity costs

WOODMER® was created in response to the need to lower greenhouse gas emissions and improve circularity in the cellulose production process. The result was a product that does both; with lower emissions compared to many fossil- and food-based polymers, the production and value chains get significantly more sustainable, and consumers can access more environmentally friendly, and responsibly produced products.

Compared to agriculture-based polymers, that require intensive land management and water, our input (wood biomass) requires relatively little distortion of the soils and surroundings during its lifetime. Moreover, large share of wood biomass was previously burned as waste for energy, an inefficient process that violates the cascading principle.

Therefore, WOODMER® offers manufacturers and consumers benefits such as high usefulness, high reliability, improved circularity, low GHG emissions and low opportunity costs

We enable our customers to significantly lower their GHG emissions, contributing to the EU net-zero strategy

The Paris agreement and EUs aim to be climate neutral by 2050, have never required as urgent actions as now. Ecohelix provides a solution to significantly lower GHG emissions for multiple value chains and at several levels of the value chains. From increased energy efficiency at the hostmill, to improved carbon footprint of products that we often use in our daily lifes, WOODMER® can provide a multiplying effect, across industries and at several stages of the value chains, for example integrated into the product itself, as adhesive and in the packaging material. Thereby, Ecohelix can contribute to exponential effects for reduction of GHG, working against global warming.

Ecohelix production promotes circularity and retention of wood-based CO2 sinks. Our raw material is wood biomass from certified forests, that is currently underutilized raw material source. By transforming these unused side streams into valuable and sustainable material, we improve energy efficiency, circularity and facilitate the retention of the CO2 sink that wood has created, throughout the life cycle of the products. In addition, we provide a locally available material, for improved independency of European market actors.

WOODMER is transparently sourced from side streams of cellulose production, based on sustainably managed forests, and has minimal environmental impact. We are mindful to keep it that way across value chains

Ecohelix raw material originates from sustainably managed forests and transparent sources. Through our industry partners, Ecohelix is committed to forest certification schemes that include environmental, social and economic aspects, with consideration of the local environment and surrounding biodiversity.

Not a single additional tree is cut for Ecohelix’s production. Instead, we increase circularity and consider our effect on the nearby environment, both next to our production plant and all the way to our customers. Consisting of hemicellulose and lignin, naturally available in nature, and sourced from a side stream that ultimately returns to the host mill, WOODMER® production has minimal effect on its surroundings. However, we still conduct regular safety and environmental controls, making sure that the surrounding remains in harmony. Our ambitions also go further – we are to establish a production site entirely made of wood. A project that we hope will inspire others to do the same.

Copyright 2023 United Nations. All rights reserved.

This is the Ecohelix Value Creation

The Problem

Materials used in packaging, construction, textile, and cosmetics industry, are produced from fossil based raw materials that creates greenhouse gas emissions.

Strong growth trend in replacing aluminum, oil-based chemicals and polymers sourced from food production driven by consumer trends and EU regulations. Tightened emission regulations and higher production demands has created bottlenecks in pulp production that the mills need to solve.

Innovation

Using biotechnology and membrane filtration to create high performing Woodmer biopolymer from pulping side-streams.

User Benefits

Ecohelix Woodmer products can replace currently used oil and food-based polymers in many applications to increase the green profile of the products and to decrease emissions.

Core Competencies

Ecohelix has done research on the technology with strong R&D team for the past 10 years resulting in a unique, patented technology, that is now ready production.

Production Goals

Ecohelix has a target to move from demo to industrial scale (15 000 tn/a) production by 2024 and continue expanding to new mills after that.

THE BLOG

LATEST RELEASE

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Bringing different viewpoints together

Introducing Ella Lundström, Ecohelix Project Manager Meet Ella Lundström, Project Manager at Ecohelix, who joined our team last September. Ella is a proactive individual with a passion for getting things done and achieving tangible results. She excels in asking insightful questions to bring clarity and understanding to the table. She drives sustainable development through stakeholder … Read more

Read the whole story

•••

Ecohelix Nature Driven Technology

We have created a groundbreaking, nature driven technology to make everyday life more sustainable. In the video we describe, how our technology works. How we derive valuable, high performing and sustainable material from currently under or even non-utilized pulp industry side stream. Taking hard to harness hemicellulose and lignin from the the process, utilizing membrane … Read more

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Discovering Ecohelix Through the Eyes of Our Team: A Perspective on How We´re Making a Difference

Ecohelix makes a difference and provides a great place to work for curious people. We are on a journey to make our daily lives more sustainable by using wood-based materials. Our mission is to reshape the way we utilize resources and materials, enhance circularity and provide sustainable alternatives to fossil-based materials. Our work is based … Read more

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96%

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION AVOIDANCE COMPARED TO COMPETITION

15 000 t/a

LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION CAPACITY

10

YEARS OF RESEARCH

NORDIC EXCELLENCE IN
WOOD-BASED BIOPOLYMERS

“Join us in the journey to make our every day life more sustainable. There is still time to change the direction”

Founder & CEO

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