Stora Enso is making big moves towards a more sustainable future with a game-changing product: Papira®, a wood-based foam that could replace plastic packaging.
Behind the scenes, the company’s pilot plant in Fors Mill, Avesta, Sweden, has been refining this innovative material, which is now being tested for real-world applications.
Papira® is a lightweight, shock-absorbing material that could soon be used to package everything from electronics to kitchen appliances. What sets it apart is that it’s plastic-free and fully recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable. It’s the type of packaging we’ve all been waiting for—sustainable and capable of reducing waste in industries that rely heavily on plastic.
The pilot plant, which has been up and running since late 2021, is where the magic happens. Led by Eva Engstedt, the team has been testing, tweaking, and perfecting Papira® with several industry partners. This collaborative approach has been crucial for understanding how the material behaves in real-life conditions. “Working with our partners gives us valuable insights and helps us optimize the product based on real feedback,” Engstedt explained.
The results so far have been impressive. Papira® is already generating buzz for its potential to phase out plastic foams in packaging. The feedback from the pilot plant has been overwhelmingly positive, proving that wood fibers can be a sustainable alternative to plastic. With continued testing and improvements, it looks like Papira® could play a key role in future packaging solutions, offering a much-needed alternative to the plastic waste problem.
Stora Enso is a major player in renewable solutions for packaging, biomaterials, and wood construction, and is among the world’s largest private forest owners. With 20,000 employees globally and sales of EUR 9.4 billion in 2023, the company is listed on both Nasdaq Helsinki and Nasdaq Stockholm.
