Pulp and paper industry company Stora Enso has embarked on a project aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of materials required for battery manufacturing.
The company has started the production of Lignode using wood to help scale up the production of batteries as the demand for energy storage systems increases owing to the electrification of the global economy.
The global battery market is projected to grow tenfold over the next decade as battery producers seek more sustainable materials for the electrification of mobility, according to a press statement.
The pilot is a result of a €10 million investment made by Stora Enso to expand and innovate its manufacturing capacity at Sunila production site in Finland. The company has been producing Lignin at the site since 2015.
The investment made expands the company’s annual lignin production capacity to 50 000 tonnes, making Stora Enso the largest kraft lignin producer in the world.
Today, fossil-based carbon is used in the anodes of EV rechargeable batteries as well as in large-scale energy storage systems.
Markus Mannström, executive vice president of Stora Enso’s Biomaterials division, said: “With our pilot plant now ramping up operations, Stora Enso is entering a new value chain in supplying more sustainable anode materials for batteries. With Lignode, we can provide a bio-based, cost-competitive and high-performance material to replace the conventionally used graphite. To serve the fast-growing anode materials market, we are now exploring strategic partnerships to accelerate scale-up and commercialisation in Europe.”
