Introducing the SciSustain project within the ExpandFibre Ecosystem

SciSustain, a newly launched multidisciplinary research project coordinated by Aalto University together with seven industrial partners, aims to assist in translating scientific findings in the field of sustainability of bio-based packaging innovations, thus helping to improve and accelerate the implementation solutions that mitigate climate change. Launched in June 2024, the two-year project is an €1.3 million project funded by Business Finland, linked both with Valmet’s Beyond Circularity Veturi programme and ExpandFibre Ecosystem.

Professorship for Sustainable Bioproduct Innovation brought a Brazilian forest engineer to Finland

Luana Dessbessell, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Bioproduct Innovation at Aalto University. She is leading the newly launched Science Translation Framework for Sustainable Bioproducts Innovation project (SciSustain). Luana’s background as forest engineer and expert on natural resources management in Brazil led her to continue her work in Ontario, Canada, with industry collaboration for scaling up innovations in lignin - and further on to Finland.

After her post-doc studies, while working in British Columbia on chem-bio innovation sustainability assessment and externalization Luana found herself applying for a professorship at Aalto University’s School of Chemical Engineering. The open professorship was very well aligned with Luana’s own ambitions to boost collaboration within the bio-based industry for accelerating innovation further and for carrying out multidisciplinary research on various sustainability focused topics. For almost two years now, Luana enjoys her work at Aalto and lives close to nature with her family - literally in the middle of the forest. What could be more suitable for a nature-loving forest engineer turned academic professor?

SciSustain to support sustainable bioproduct innovation in packaging

Luana explains that the SciSustain project aims to address the following three research questions, namely, how to estimate the potential long-term benefits and effects of today’s proposed sustainable bio-based products; what can assist sustainable bio-based innovations in becoming a commercial reality faster; and, finally, how can sustainable bio-based innovations be supported onwards from ideation, basic and applied research. Furthermore, the project is founded on a simple hypothesis: could we leverage sustainability assessments to improve the science feedback loop?

Sustainable development requires science-based decision-making to improve and implement solutions that mitigate climate change. However, translating scientific findings is complex and requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary, holistic, robust, and reliable approach to exploring the economic, technical, environmental, and social aspects linked to the development of bioproduct solutions. SciSustain project combines translational engineering research and consolidated sustainability methods into a framework for supporting sustainable bioproduct innovation. The framework is designed to assess innovations and suggest novel approaches for improving sustainability and circularity in packaging.

In a nutshell, the project aims to:

-Deliver competitive sustainable solutions
-Help bioentrepreneurs reduce risks
-Leverage the freedom of design with early TRL (technology readiness level) innovations to guide research towards favourable applications
-Deliver a robust and reliable framework adaptable to the themes of the cases being assessed
-Support regulatory development and advocacy
-Accelerate technology commercialisation.

SciSustain is part of Valmet’s Beyond Circularity and ExpandFibre ecosystems, bringing together major biomaterial companies and key players within the packaging value chain such as Valmet, UPM, Stora Enso and Metsä Group. In addition, the project consortium is complimented by fast-growing and innovative SMEs such as Paptic, LignEasy, and Boreal Bioproducts – all challenging the status quo of side stream valorization. The main benefit to the strong involvement of the companies includes the holistic sustainability assessment of their innovations in parallel or built onto existing technical research – resulting in evidence to support research and investment directions towards competitive alternative packaging solutions.

In the scientific and societal domains, the results of the project should impact the global packaging value chain and serve as a feasible tool to accelerate the development of sustainable bioproducts to reach a commercial scale. In addition to collaboration among the companies, there will be active research exchange among several international universities during SciSustain.

SciSustain project partners:

Aalto University, Boreal Bioproducts, LignEasy, Metsä Group, Paptic, Stora Enso, UPM, and Valmet.