FINLAND - Stora Enso and Northvolt are joining forces to create sustainable batteries using lignin-based hard carbon produced with renewable wood from the Nordic forests.

“The joint battery development with Northvolt marks a step on our journey to serve the fast-growing battery market with renewable anode materials made from trees. Our lignin-based hard carbon, Lignode® by Stora Enso, will secure the strategic European supply of anode raw material, serving the sustainable battery needs for applications from mobility to stationary energy storage,” says Johanna Hagelberg, Executive Vice President for Biomaterials at Stora Enso.

Both companies bring key components, competence, and expertise to the battery partnership. Stora Enso will provide its lignin-based anode material Lignode, originating from sustainably managed forests, while Northvolt will drive cell design, production process development and scale-up of the technology.

Lignin is a plant-derived polymer found in the cell walls of dry-land plants. Trees are composed of 20–30% of lignin, where it acts as a natural and strong binder. It is one of the biggest renewable sources of carbon anywhere.

Stora Enso’s pilot plant for bio-based carbon materials is located at the Group’s Sunila production site in Finland, where lignin has been industrially produced since 2015. The annual lignin production capacity is 50,000 tonnes, making Stora Enso the largest kraft lignin producer in the world. The Group is also evaluating its first industrial production of Lignode at the Sunila site through a feasibility study.

Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction and paper, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world.

Northvolt is a European supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems. Founded in 2016 to enable the European transition to a decarbonized future.