A recent life cycle assessment, conducted by Etteplan and reviewed by the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, shows that compared to viscose, lyocell, and cotton fibre, large-scale production of Kuura would result in a clearly lower level of greenhouse gas emissions.
ESPOO, Finland (February 10, 2025) Metsä Spring, the innovation company of Metsä Group, has completed a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its Kuura® textile fibre. To assess the environmental impact of a possible first commercial-scale mill producing Kuura, Metsä Spring asked Etteplan to conduct a study using the standard LCA methodology. The study results were critically reviewed by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Kuura’s production process is currently being tested and developed at a greenfield demo plant in Äänekoski, Finland. The demo plant’s nominal capacity is approximately one tonne per day.
The assessment shows that Kuura’s global warming potential (GWP100, fossil) score is less than one-third of the next best option, viscose. GWP is a term used to describe the relative potency, molecule for molecule, of a greenhouse gas, considering how long it remains active in the atmosphere. Kuura’s GWP is only one-quarter of cotton fibre and over 80 percent lower than the impact of lyocell fibre.
“Metsä Group aims to introduce a new textile fibre product to the market that would be competitive on many different metrics. Environmental impacts, and in particular the potential to mitigate climate change, is one key metric. We are very pleased that our new assessment with external experts shows that our chosen concept has great potential. This will give impetus to further development,” says Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring.
Contributing to Kuura’s success is the fact that it would, on an industrial scale, be produced and integrated into Metsä Group’s existing bioproduct mill, which does not use any fossil energy and is one of the most efficient pulp-producing mills globally. In practice, the bioproduct mill generates significant amounts of excess renewable energy (steam, electricity, etc.), which would be used to meet the energy demand of producing the Kuura textile fibre.
Kuura is produced from softwood Kraft pulp, not from dissolving pulp, which is commonly used as raw material in the production of man-made cellulosic fibres such as lyocell and viscose fibres. The wood for pulp production would be procured from forests located close to the pulp and textile fibre mills.
“We have shown that integrating the textile fibre production into a modern mill results in a product with a clear climate change mitigation potential compared to the use of existing commercial textile fibres. Even if the assessment is still based on design data and will have to be tested on an industrial scale, we believe that this proves that we are on the right track with Kuura production,” says Markus Nuopponen, R&D Manager and member of the Kuura project at Metsä Spring.
Kuura receives Green Shirt Hot Button ranking from Canopy for the 4th year in a row
Additionally to the LCA results, Kuura textile fibre has achieved good scores based on the Hot Button Ranking evaluation arranged by the Canadian not-for-profit environmental organisation Canopy. Kuura was awarded for the 4th consecutive year with a ‘Green Shirt’ rating, the requirements of which are a risk-free, transparent supply chain and traceable raw materials.
ITOCHU Textile Company, a part of Japanese trading giant ITOCHU Corporation, is one of the main partners in the Kuura project. With the collaboration, Kuura has already been utilised in creating fashionable and sustainable outfits like jackets, shirts, and work uniforms, as well as in cutting-edge artwork that promotes the future of novel fibres. Clothes that have used Kuura can already be found in selective brands’ online stores.
“Both the development of real-life products and these assessments paint a very positive picture of Kuura’s future,” von Weymarn concludes.
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