Northvolt , the Swedish battery manufacturer, and Stora Enso , the Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer, have signed an agreement to jointly develop wood-based batteries. The batteries will feature an anode made from lignin-based hard carbon extracted from Nordic forests.
Stora Enso will supply its lignin-based anode material Lignode, while Northvolt will undertake the cell design, technology, and production processes. Stora Enso’s Sunila production site in Finland has been producing lignin since 2015. The company currently produces 50 000 tonnes annually.
Johanna Hagelberg, Biomaterials Executive Vice President for Stora Enso, said: “The joint battery development with Northvolt marks a step on our journey to serve the fast-growing battery market with renewable anode materials made from trees. Our lignin-based hard carbon, Lignode, will secure the strategic European supply of anode raw material.”