OutNature in Germany is taking a new innovative step in widening raw material sources for sustainable packaging production with converting agriculture residues into pulp blend based on straw fiber. Valmet has been selected to deliver pretreatment and automation systems to be an important part of the technology solution for this process. The BioTrac system is a pretreatment technology designed to process all kinds of lignocellulosic raw materials, including straw, into high-quality fibers suitable for further refining and papermaking.
Credit: Valmet Oyj
Valmet Pretreatment BioTrac system is a versatile system for biomass prehydrolysis for several different end use applications.
The new straw fiber plant will be installed at the LEIPA paper mill in Schwedt/Oder where the company currently processes over one million tonnes of wastepaper per year to produce various types of paper for packaging and graphic applications. LEIPA plans to use straw fibers in combination with wastepaper. The straw fiber plant, based on Valmet’s continuous steam treatment technology, is planned to start-up by the end of 2026.
Straw offers a number of advantages as a raw material for fiber production. As a by-product of agricultural grain processing, it does not require any additional cultivation areas. Furthermore, cultivation in Germany contributes to short transport routes, which reduces emissions. Straw fibers make it possible to reduce the use of virgin wood fibers and improve the recycled fiber-based paper properties.
"Straw is an excellent way to close the gap between quality loss and the demand for fresh wood fibers. Together with LEIPA, we will unlock the potential of regionally available agricultural by-products and thus promote the overall social benefit for customers, farmers, and renewable material circularity. The increased focus on securing raw materials also contributes to the sustainability strategy of the entire Schwarz Group. The new fiber production facility is part of a two-stage investment project,” explains Michail Ginsburg, Managing Director of OutNature.
“Together with OutNature we have developed the process and tests conducted at our pilot plant in Sundsvall show that the straw fibers have excellent strength properties. It has been very encouraging for us to be a part of this, for the future, groundbreaking project creating a foundation for sustainable papermaking with reduced carbon footprint and the use of agriculture residues,” says Per Norlin, Sales Manager at Valmet.
The delivery includes Valmet Pretreatment BioTrac system, Valmet DNAe control system and stock preparation equipment. The order is included in Valmet’s third-quarter 2025 orders received. The value of the order will not be disclosed.