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Stora Enso progresses commercialization of lignin-based anode materials

| By Mary Bailey

The commercialization of lignin-based advanced materials is progressing — Stora Enso Oyj (Helsinki, Finland) signed a Letter of Intent with Beyonder, a Norwegian energy storage technology company. The Letter of Intent covers optimization of properties and commercial deliveries of lignin-based anode material for batteries after industrial-scale production has started.

There is a global demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly energy storage. Graphite, a fossil-based material that is usually used as anode material for batteries today, is often mined in Asia in unsatisfactory conditions. Stora Enso aims at creating a sustainable European supply chain for the battery industry together with its strategic partners, using renewable materials that grow back. Stora Enso’s wood-based solution, lignin-based carbon called Lignode by Stora Enso, can be used in batteries, typically used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and in large-scale energy storage systems. The lignin that Stora Enso uses for making the anode material comes from trees grown in sustainably managed forests in the Nordics.

Beyonder develops and manufactures eco-friendly and high-performance batteries for industrial use ranging from uninterruptible power source buffers for wind or solar parks to mobility applications with high start-up currents such as ferries, buses, and construction machinery. Battery material that is made of European wood is a vital part of developing sustainable batteries, therefore, Beyonder and Stora Enso intend to collaborate for using Lignode as anode material in Beyonder’s battery cells.