Spinnova has developed a cellulosic staple fibre by converting pulp directly into textile fibre without dissolving or the use of harmful chemicals. The process is based on mechanical treatment of the pulp. It is a closed process with no waste streams — the only side product is evaporated water, which is also recycled back into the process. As the Chief Sustainability Officer, Shahriare Mahmood looks after not only the startup’s sustainability work but also the material development.
— When the fibre is produced, the material development team looks at how to apply it — in textile application, non-woven, composites, or other things. Especially for textile products, where the Spinnova fibre will be predominantly used, proof of concept is needed. As this is a new, noble fibre, the industry yet needs to know about it, and how it behaves in mechanical or chemical processes. We are working with industrial partners and retailers to integrate it into the textile value chain, Mahmood explains, continuing,
— Since joining the company, we have been taking the first step in increasing our capability in textiles. We started with the yarn spinning — how to convert the fibre to yarn. In the spinning, we’ve looked at what’s possible and what’s not, what do we need to tweak and fine-tune? And also to make sure that normal yarn-spinning machines are able to deal with this kind of fibre.
— After the optimisation on yarn and fabric level, we’ve worked on fitting the fibre blend into conventional wet processes, such as dyeing and finishing. To optimise, we’ve been partnering not only with the industry but also with the textile chemical manufacturers. All in all, we don’t want to just make a fibre and leave it to the industry but to provide a complete guideline on utilising it properly in each processing stage. Brands are interested in us and our sustainability features but when it comes to textile processing, we have to guide the industrial partners with the standard guidelines.
”We are developing our fibre into a mass-market product”
Spinnova is also right amid a scaling process, aiming to reach 1 million tonnes in fibre production capacity.
— Last year, our first industrial-scale demonstration plant was inaugurated, in Jyväskylä, Finland. The location is also ideal for utilising the use of excess heat produced and providing it to the district heating system. It is an amazing potential. Otherwise, if we produce the excess heat and it’s going to the waste, we are basically producing waste. By utilising the excess heat in district heating, our carbon footprint is saved more than it produced.
— When we work with high tech, we also need the knowledge resources and experts, and Jyväskylä can provide that. As this is the first plant and the industry has never seen such kind of technology to produce fibre, we want to also keep it (the first plant, Ed’s note) close to us. Now we are ramping up and, together with our partners such as Suzano, preparing to move forward with the next plant.
— Product-wise, the fibre is comparable with other natural fibres, such as cotton which has a lot of sustainability challenges related to it. The fibre has real potential and if we can provide an alternative to the industry, I’m sure they will be grabbing it. We already see the interest — they really see it as a cotton replacement.
— Where cotton or other natural fibres are applied, Spinnova could be a great fit. One example is to use it in the woven application, like the Spinnova cotton blended fabric used in Jack & Jones trousers or the Arket overshirt with similar kinds of fabrics. We have also been using it in denim applications and experts are happy with the blending. At the moment, we are blending our fibre with other fibres but our aim is to reach 100% Spinnova in the products. We started with a 30% share of Spinnova in a blend — 30% Spinnova and 70% cotton. Then gradually, we will be increasing to, first, a 40-60 and 50-50 blend.
— In the latest strategy review, we announced that in the short term — 2025-2026 — the target is a total cumulative fibre production capacity of 30,000 tonnes; in the medium term (2028-2030) 130k tonnes; and in the long term (2034-2036) 450k tonnes. These numbers reflect a total cumulative annual fibre production capacity committed to be built by our technology customers or by ourselves through own investments. As we’re implementing our technology sales strategy, we do not plan to make our own investment into fibre production in the short to medium term. We see that significant production investments are needed on a global basis to satisfy the demand growth of millions of tonnes of textile fibres.
— We are currently focusing our efforts on technology sales, but at the same time, developing our fibre into a mass-market product. We will participate in market development to promote fibre adoption in the value chain together with retail brands and their supply chain partners. In the short term, our focus is on mid-weight woven fabrics and, for example, denim. In the medium term, we aim to expand the application range to, for example, knits. In the long term, we aim for a full application range. During the last year, we have tested multiple applications with our industry partners and, as I said, that includes denim.
You mentioned Suzano as a partner, and together, you’ve formed a joint venture called Woodspin.
— Yes. Spinnova is a tech company, and we are working on bringing many other products from our technology — utilising different kinds of feedstocks and raw materials. For example, in a project with Business Finland, we look at how to dope-dye the fibre, to get it coloured. We will remain a technology provider, says Mahmood. He continues:
— As the world’s biggest hardwood pulp producer, Suzano has a lot of raw materials. If we want to scale to 1 million tonnes, we really need raw materials of consistent supply. And they trust our technology initiative, which is very important for a startup company. Working together on Woodspin is a big part of our journey going forward. You might have an extremely good innovation, but you also have to prove it in scale — that’s where the trust comes from. Now, also for an investor, we can show that our plant is operating on an industrial scale and not just as a pilot. It’s proof of concept.
— In March, we and Suzano signed a Letter of Intent regarding a potential new production facility for the fibre. Together with our partners, we will deliver the fibre production technology to Suzano, who will be the owner and operator of the new facility. The preliminary target capacity of the facility is 20,000 tonnes of fibre per year, and it is likely to be located near an existing Suzano pulp mill.
”The Spinnova process is saving over 98% water compared to conventional cotton — we don’t see that highlighted so often”
What have been your main challenges since joining three years ago?
— There were a lot of things to develop and many things undone when I joined since the company was so new. In the startup phase, there are also a lot of opportunities — we can use agro-waste, textile waste, or wood pulp. If we start with all at the same time, it will be very difficult, so we focus on the wood-based raw material first.
— What we have done after I joined is to put the effort first on the sustainability side. What are the real sustainability features that the fashion industry is looking for? You might have a lot of interesting sustainability facts but you have to align to what the industry is looking for — not all the sustainability aspects are very interesting. Take the fact that the Spinnova process is saving over 98% water compared to conventional cotton. We don’t see that highlighted so often. The reason, I think, is that the industry is not setting any targets there, as it does on carbon footprint and so on. But I believe that water is the new carbon. In the future, people will start to focus on the water. When a retailer or brand is setting a target to reduce its footprint by 2030, it’s about the amount of carbon which will be reduced. Soon, people will be starting to put targets for water too. Then, ’98%+’ is not a poor number.
In corporate governance, Shahriare has been putting a lot of effort into sustainability reporting.
— Why the report is important? We see so much interest around Spinnova by the stakeholders. And we need to inform them. With an ESG report, you can reach several stakeholders. You have a formal document to refer to — especially for the investors, who obviously are extremely important to us. Investors need confidence which can be obtained from such a report.
— On the product side, we have recruited yarn experts, fabric experts, and dyeing and finishing experts. We have been taking all their expertise because I know that we have to make the fibre workable in all the different stages of the textile value chain and develop and fine-tune it. Initially, we didn’t have a target. We were thinking that we could run even 100% Spinnova (in a piece of garment) but we need time to find the right set-up and machines and for trial and error. However, we were pragmatic, targeting what was achievable. Let’s say that a 30-70 blend (of Spinnova and another fibre) is one of our targets. With cotton, we have seen that it’s working nicely, so we have set that as a target for the moment.
In an industry where the lack of cooperation is often pointed out as a major obstacle to its well-needed transformation, Spinnova can serve as a good example. Except for the mentioned partnership with Suzano, for scaling up the fibre production and for the application to the textile products, they are also collaborating with other industry experts. One of them, Rieter, is one of the most known yarn-spinning solution providers. Together, they’re working on yarn spinning and producing a guideline for the industry to produce a Spinnova fibre blend.
— We know that we can’t do everything alone and test all the technicalities. So, we are acknowledging the knowledge from the industry and amalgamating this knowledge with our own R&D, in order to try to make the product adaptable by the industry.
— Once the yarn is made, the blended yarn can be used in producing the fabric through weaving and knitting. We also put significant effort into applying the yarn and fabric to conventional wet processing, such as dyeing and finishing, without a need for new equipment or chemistry. On that front, I mentioned that we are partnering with chemical companies in the textile domain. The core knowledge Spinnova has on the chemical structure of the fibre is mixed up with their knowledge plus the knowledge from the industry. This way, we are aiming to produce a guideline for the industry to apply a Spinnova/cotton blend in commercial applications.
— Here, in the material development, we have been starting to put in a lot of effort and trial and error. Very often, we receive requests from the brand partners on specific material types. Since we know our fibre well, we took a little bit of a bottom-up approach. We produced some products and materials which we could present to them, to find a right fit into their collection.
— Cotton is also not applied in all applications. There are limitations. When you want a silky, nice, and shiny look, you don’t typically consider cotton but might take viscose, lyocell, or another synthetic fibre. But where cotton is predominantly applied, as a rule of thumb, consider that Spinnova can be applied. That is why we have first produced some material for what we call a Material Library. From that, we give examples to our brand partners, so that it’s easy for them to look into what’s possible before the designer thinks about what to make out of the material and what can be produced. This makes things a lot easier, to know how to use Spinnova correctly. It’s also about managing expectations.
”We’re developing commercial guidelines so that anybody can process Spinnova”
What can you say about your future plans?
— We are now focusing our efforts on technology sales, Mahmood explains. These sales and deliveries are supported by technology development and fibre market development. We promote fibre adoption in the value chain together with textile brands and their supply chain partners. We work to expand the application base and in the short term, we’re developing commercial guidelines so that anybody can process Spinnova.
— Our technology will be targeted at where it creates the most value, with upstream raw material partners or downstream textile manufacturers. Our potential technology customers are raw material producers, such as pulp producers, and other industrial players with side streams. In addition, our potential customers can be fibre producers or integrated downstream textile industry players planning on moving to fibre production. In addition, we also see the potential but are not actively seeking opportunities with brand- or investor-supported consortiums.
— We really want to see that Spinnova is a mainstream raw material in the textile industry with the plan of 1 million tonnes of production. As mentioned, I can see the potential of it being a true replacement for cotton or other natural fibres. Now, we need to work on scaling it up. From the material development side, we have to make sure that we are tweaking it for a mainstream application so that someone just can take it and apply it in normal textile processing. We don’t need to go everywhere every time with someone and do it for them and show. There should be a standard guideline. They will be following that. That’s what we are aiming for now.
— Natural fibre gap demand is approximately one-third of the overall fibre market, with cotton growth stagnating. There is a lack of sustainable alternatives that are available at scale. Our technology is a unique way to produce textile fibre with reduced impact and we offer a scalable solution for the natural fibre gap. Significant investment is needed for the categories that we address — and there, we see great potential for our technology, Mahmood concludes.
