The 4-year ExpandFibre journey was celebrated with the final Public Seminar event
NewsSeminar event
Approximately 100 people were in attendance onsite at Metsä Group HQ in Espoo, Finland, with additional 50-100 participants following the day’s sessions remotely via event stream. The all-day event presented highlights from the participating Veturi companies within Fortum and Metsä Group, insightful commentary from funding agency Business Finland as well as presentations on various topics covered by the ExpandFibre Ecosystem partners. A panel discussion with fellow Veturi programme leaders provided additional interest to the day’s agenda. Initial plans for the next phase of ExpandFibre were also presented in the event.
The ExpandFibre team, led by Programme Managers Katariina Kemppainen (Metsä Spring) and Matti Sonck (Fortum Bio2X), invited all ExpandFibre Ecosystem members and biomaterial enthusiasts alike to celebrate the four-year ExpandFibre journey on August 19th, 2024 with the final Public Seminar event. The event was hosted at Metsä Group’s headquarters in Espoo, Finland.
Highlights from the morning session included “The ExpandFibre journey” presentation given by the Programme Managers, in which the achievements of the ExpandFibre Programmes and Ecosystem were recapped. It was revealed that during 2020-2024, over 130 M€ of R&D funding in total had been successfully steered towards developing sustainable bioproducts. The Programme Managers also provided insightful details into the benefits of jointly hosting the ExpandFibre Ecosystem.
Representatives from Fortum Bio2X, Fortum Recycling & Waste, Metsä Spring, Metsä Fibre and Metsä Board presented highlights from their own organizations’ point of view on the ExpandFibre journey. Commentary for the morning session was provided by Teija Lahti-Nuuttila, Executive Director at Business Finland. ExpandFibre’s role as a forerunner within the Business Finland Veturi funding scheme and the overall value of the developed ExpandFibre Ecosystem were key touchpoints of the commentary presentation.
After an enjoyable lunch discussing the event’s themes with fellow participants, the afternoon session of the event was kicked off. The primary focus of the afternoon session was on the achievements of the ExpandFibre Ecosystem made up of 103 organisation members and 30 Ecosystem projects. Newest Ecosystem projects were introduced with brief presentations including details on the participating project partners and objectives of the work ahead. Four member organisations presented pitches in the session “Success stories from the Ecosystem” with interesting looks into the growth journeys of Measurlabs, Vilikkala, Sulzer Pumps and Valmet alongside ExpandFibre.
In the final parallel sessions of the afternoon, fellow Veturi programme leaders from Borealis, Kone, Neste, Valio and Valmet took part in a panel discussion moderated by the ExpandFibre Programme Managers. Also, four recently wrapped up Ecosystem projects presented glimpses into their results and next steps.
To close the event and look ahead towards the future, initial plans on the ExpandFibre Transition Phase were presented by Katariina Kemppainen. From September 2024 onwards, ExpandFibre will start a new Transition Phase, hosted by Metsä Group, to continue the commitment towards accelerating the development of sustainable bioproducts. More news on the specific details of the ExpandFibre Transition Phase will come later in the autumn. Matti Sonck told that Bio2X is undergoing changes as Fortum’s strategy has been renewed, but their target is to continue the excellent collaboration with their partners in the ExpandFibre Ecosystem.
ExpandFibre team thanks once again everyone attending the event onsite at Metsä Group HQ, as well as following the sessions remotely via the event stream.