FIBRA – Fiber Innovation for Dry Forming: Developing Next-Generation Raw Materials for Sustainable Packaging

Currently, dry forming relies on pulp types and additives originally designed for wet processes. These are suboptimal for dry forming and lead to weak fiber bonding, limited product performance, and higher production costs. By developing pulp formulations that integrate bio-based polymers such as microfibrillated cellulose (MFC ), hemicellulose, and lignin, the project seeks to improve fiber-fiber interactions and enable the use of alternative raw material formats, including residual streams like trim waste.

The project is led by Yangi, in collaboration with SC A and The Loop Factory. Activities include lab-scale and pilot trials, mechanical testing, and sustainability assessments, including life cycle analysis and techno-economic evaluation. A sheet-dosing system will be designed to allow feeding of novel material formats in the dry forming process.

The project will demonstrate that dry forming can be industrialized with optimized, renewable raw materials – resulting in reduced climate impact, enhanced resource efficiency, and strengthened Swedish innovation leadership in sustainable packaging.