Development of bio-based carbon fibre could replace oil-based carbon in the future

Stora Enso has been developing the technology for manufacturing carbon fibre from wood-based raw materials, i.e. dissolving pulp and lignin, at laboratory scale. The agreement announced today with Cordenka GmbH & Co KG, a leading producer of premium-quality industrial viscose fibres, aims at upscaling the precursor development process to pilot-scale operation. The precursor development is carried out with specialised manufacturing spinning equipment at Cordenka’s Obernburg production site in Germany. The venture is supported by BMC, owner of Cordenka, as part of their strategy to extend the reach of Cordenka into new growth markets and Asia.

“It is exciting to partner up with Cordenka to develop bio-based carbon fibre that replaces oil-based raw materials,” says Markus Mannström, Executive Vice President of Stora Enso’s Biomaterials division. “Our ambition is to provide industrial composite producers with a sustainable, yet cost-competitive, carbon fibre made from renewable and fossil-free materials. Thus, we continue to contribute to Stora Enso’s vision of a low-carbon society. We also look forward to attracting more partners downstream in the value chain, such as carbon fibre companies, to join the collaboration,” Mannström concludes.

“Stora Enso and Cordenka are a natural fit. Stora Enso has developed important new technology and Cordenka has critical manufacturing expertise. Both companies have been manufacturing products based on renewable resources for decades and both are market leaders in their respective fields. Making carbon fibre precursors for composite reinforcement from wood-based feedstock is a major leap forward in material science,” says Kurt Uihlein, Chief Marketing Officer of Cordenka.

Carbon fibre demand is increasing steadily at an annual growth rate of 10%. The target of the partnership will be on developing carbon fibre initially for industrial applications requiring low weight and high mechanical performance, such as pultruded laminates used in manufacturing wind energy rotor blades. Today, 20% of the global carbon fibre supply is used by the wind energy industry.

Nowadays, carbon fibre is made from PAN (polyacrylonitrile) which is an oil-based raw material. The raw materials for bio-based carbon fibre are cellulose and lignin, which come from trees. In the bio-based carbon fibre process, cellulose is converted to viscose and mixed with lignin to form the spinning dope. The dope is spun into precursor fibre that is thermally converted to carbon fibre.
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