Lignin For Future

The Lignin For Future project wants to increase the opportunities for innovative SMEs in the bioeconomy to grow and implement their ideas, preferably linked to the raw material lignin. The offering is increasing thanks to an investment in a dryer for biomass, primarily lignin, and a developed collaboration in the innovation support system linked to LignoCity. Through collaborations involving several parties, the project has broad competence in supporting the target group to success, growth, market, and new establishments.

The project's goal is to bring innovative startups to the region and through new research and innovation contribute to the developed competitiveness of, and expansion of, SMEs in northern Central Sweden. This will strengthen the companies' competence, entrepreneurship, and ability to implement the climate transition.

At the end of the project, we have linked to LignoCity's new investments:

1. Reached about 80-100 SMEs, including innovative startups, and delivered value such as inspiration, R&D, and competence and offered development
2. Initiated serious, sharp, discussions with about 10 innovative startups about start-ups in the region
3. Pilot tested how SMEs and innovative startups benefit from the fact that we gather and activate Swedish and international cutting-edge expertise to LignoCity, and benefit from the fact that we have begun to exploit synergies between regions that are important to collaborate with to achieve the overall project goal

Through the project, LignoCity becomes a center beneficial for the development of the region.

LignoCity is today the only facility in the world that offers an open, flexible infrastructure that can produce customized sulfate lignin in large enough quantities (about 1 ton/h) for upscaling various processing possibilities. LignoCity offers support all the way from curiosity about lignin to the establishment of a company/production, to which LignoCity can deliver raw materials during the company's initial development phase when it first reaches the market. In doing so, LignoCity helps to bridge what has been called the Valley of Death.

Dried lignin is a prerequisite for reaching products such as bioplastics, bitumen for asphalt, sealants, electrode materials for batteries, supercapacitors, carbon fibers, etc. Some product areas even require odorless lignin, which in turn requires dry lignin. The project means that we invest in a dryer for lignin on a large pilot scale, which can also be used for drying other materials. The investment is expected to lead to several SMEs and innovative startups being able to develop their offerings that contribute to the climate transition through research and innovation efforts thanks to our new equipment.

The companies' skills increase and new green offers increase the competitiveness of companies. The activities of the work package, which is only the investment itself, thus contribute to the companies being able to build a platform facilitating expansion.