Metsä Group begins pre-engineering stage of Kuura wood-based fiber mill
The company is ramping up to industrial production of its textile fiber, applicable for reinforcing polymer composites, and launch of the Kuura business.
Kurra textile fiber. Source | Metsä Group
Metsä Group (Helsinki, Finland) has begun the pre-engineering process for its first commercial Kuura textile fiber mill, with the plan to prepare for the fiber’s eventual industrial production. Kuura is produced from softwood pulp — a material sourced from Metsä Group’s Finnish owner members’ forests — and is part of the company’s work to develop wood-based products of higher added value. While not the company’s primary focus, these wood-based fibers can be used in a way similar to how Lyocell or Viscose fibers are already being used to reinforce polymer composites.
Pre-engineering of the Kuura mill is expected to continue until summer 2026. The project consists of four parts: pre-engineering of the first commercial mill; development of the Kuura fiber production process; work with customers to facilitate market entry; and tasks related to financing. The application for an environmental permit is part of the factory’s pre-engineering package.
Kuura is a new product developed by Metsä Group, in which Finnish wood is converted into textile fiber without fossil fuels. According to a recent study, Kuura’s climate impact is significantly lower than that of competing fibers.
In 2020, Metsä Group reached a significant milestone with the start up of a demo plant in Äänekoski, Finland. Following modifications in late 2022 and early 2023, testing and development work at the demo plant are well underway. About a year ago, Metsä Group started a pre-study on a commercial Kuura mill. During this phase, the feasibility of the mill and the viability of the Kuura business idea were examined.
Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Group’s innovation company Metsä Spring, says that the pre-study gave promising results, which is why the decision was made to move on to the next stage.
“According to a recent study, the global warming impact of Kuura fiber is significantly lower than that of competing products when life cycle emissions are taken into account,” explains von Weymarn. “The results are explained by the fact that the industrial production of Kuura would be linked to a Metsä Group’s bioproduct mill, which does not use fossil energy. The outcome of the study will give a boost to further development.”
The pre-engineering project aims to provide all the necessary information and expertise to enable Metsä Group, eventually, to consider launching the Kuura business. If the company decides to build the mill, it is expected to employ around 250 people and produce 100,000 tonnes of textile fiber per year. The mill would be started up in Finland no earlier than in 2029.
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