New initiative to support new tech is underway

Recent pulp and paper mill closure announcements in New Zealand are set to be replaced by more positive news of exciting moves for using log harvests. Several startups are in development to use forest resources for higher value export products both locally and overseas according to forest technology director, John Stulen. Source: Timberbiz “Industry leaders from across the forestry supply chain are getting behind a new initiative to support new technologies and processes for extracting high value chemicals from logs and other forestry byproducts from sawmills,” Mr Stulen said. Local entrepreneurs are already developing new products from sustainable resources: Making graphite using CarbonScape technology produces high-quality, sustainable bio graphite from renewable materials for greener lithium-ion batteries. An international forest company Stora Enso is now backing them. Another success story is AgriSea. They are creating the world’s first commercial seaweed nanocellulose facility. Nanocellulose is a high value material with tensile strength stronger than steel and a coefficient of expansion less than glass making it a very high-performance material in many applications. Port Blakely New Zealand Essential Oils (PBNZEO), is a global leader in sustainable essential oil production, is among the first essential oil producers worldwide NZ Bio Forestry is a multi-national company that focuses on transforming plantation forestry biomass into biofuels, bio-chemicals and innovative materials. “To bring our industry innovators together we are pleased to announce a new conference called Forest Bioeconomy Innovations. It will run on 20-21 May 2025 in Rotorua. We are bringing international startup leaders together with forest and wood technology innovators to supercharge new processes to complement and eventually replace pulp and paper mills to some degree,” Mr Stulen said. “We are also working closely with officials and the Minister at MPI/Te Uru Rakau, Scion’s bioeconomy experts and key industry leaders to showcase sustainable and potential bioeconomy export products from New Zealand’s vast forest resources.” For more information visit https://innovatek.co.nz/hubs/forest-bioeconomy/