Beyond 1, 2011 - Innventia.com

Demonstrating – a vital part of
the innovation process
Nowadays, the term R&D&I is often used instead of the
traditional R&D. The added ‘I’ naturally stands for innovation.
The reason for using R&D&I is to place emphasis on the
fact that research and development will lead to some form
of income. This might be by means of a new product, a
new process or a reduction in a load on the environment,
for instance. What does an investment in R&D&I imply, in
relationship to simply R&D
When there is satisfaction in showing new possibilities and
theoretical potential with R&D, it is necessary to prove that a
new possibility is realisable, in effect, by putting the innovation
concept into practice. This is an extra thing that can certainly
be costly, yet it is often a prerequisite for a company to dare to
make further investment. This is why, in addition to research
and development, more and more public research financiers
see that they also should be supporting the demonstration
stage in the innovation chain.
A complete innovation partner, which Innventia strives to
be, has to be able to offer the possibility of demonstrating and
verifying new techniques, new technologies and new ideas,
in practice. Innventia ensures this in various ways, depending
on customer needs. This can include test beds for everything
from material testing to consumer perception, pilot plants
for demonstrating or it can be networks of companies with
experience in different parts of a new value chain. Innventia
is constantly developing, even in this area. Very recently, a
pilot plant was inaugurated for demonstrating a revolutionary
production method for nanocellulose.
Another example of a demonstrator is the LignoBoost Plant
at Bäckhammar. This has paved the way, since the Swedish
Energy Agency, with approval from the EU Commission,
is now prepared to give financial support to a pulp mill to
implement this new technology. There is more to read about
this in the following pages of this issue of Beyond, along with
an article on the new extensions made to FEX, which is a
full-scale test bed for paper production.
At FEX, an EU Project is currently in
progress to verify a process at Stora
Enso, concerning the production of a raw
material- and energy-saving paper, using
the Aq-Vane technique.
Helena Vollmer
Marketing Director, Innventia
Close to reality
in Bäckhammar
For the past four years, Innventia
has been operating a demonstration
plant in Bäckhammar, near
Kristinehamn in Sweden. The plant
is an important cornerstone in
Innventia biorefinery operations.
Among other things, the plant
produces lignin, which can be used
to produce carbon fibre in future.
Stefan Andersson at the Metso press filter used for washing of the lignin.
Niklas Berglin, who is responsible for
the technical operations at Bäckhammar
says, “It’s possible to produce large
amounts in the demonstration plant to
the exact quality required for research
and development work. When it comes
to what we call carbon fibre lignin, its
purity is the most essential thing. We
are currently carrying out tests with
improved washing to obtain as clean a
lignin as possible.”
The industrial environment is important.
The Bäckhammar plant has got
all necessary infrastructure, with tanks,
pumps, steam, cooling water and, not
least, employees that possess the right
expertise. The plant utilises black liquor
from several mills and the production
can be adapted to requirements. This
means that it is possible to produce
large amounts of the material with a
2 | Beyond #1/2011 Current awareness from the Innventia Group