CMPC Ventures invests in Swedish company Modvion to manufacture wooden wind towers

The paper company’s innovation fund became the new strategic partner of Modvion, a Swedish startup that developed an innovative technology to expand the use of wood and transform renewable energies into an even more sustainable and efficient industry with estimated savings of 2000 tons of CO2 per each 150-meter structure.

With this, CMPC consolidates its presence in Sweden and takes a new step to enhance timber construction with disruptive technologies that allow showing and exploring the versatility of this valuable material.

With an investment of 2 million euros, CMPC Ventures sealed its alliance with Modvion to support the global growth and development that the Swedish company will achieve with its wind towers manufactured with laminated veneer lumber through the construction of its industrial plant in Europe.

The injection made by CMPC Ventures will boost production, the development of new generation products and the expansion of Modvion’s marketing and sales capacities. This will also be promoted by the human capital contribution that the paper company will make through collaborative work with its technical expert teams.

“We are very excited about this investment in Modvion, as it aligns with our sustainability and innovation commitments and represents a concrete step in fostering timber construction with disruptive developments that allow showing and exploring its versatility for high-technology uses. As in all of our investments, we have put a team of technical, commercial and strategic experts in place to contribute to Modvion’s growth, and we hope to keep working with them side by side, sharing our vision of the tremendous role the forest plays in contributing to sustainability in industries such as construction or energy,” stated the manager of CMPC Ventures, Bernardita Araya.

With this strategic alliance, CMPC Ventures not only becomes established in Sweden’s innovative ecosystem but also joins Modvion’s group of principal shareholders, which includes Vestas Ventures, Almi Greentech Fund, Course Corrected VC and Symbia VC.

Modvion’s CEO Otto Lundman valued the national forestry company’s incorporation as a new investor. “CMPC will be a strong partner in Modvion’s upcoming global expansion. This investment will facilitate our development and broaden our reach”, he concluded.

Benefits of the wood used by Modvion

Modvion is a Swedish engineering and industrial design company that decided to bet on the benefits of wood in the construction of wind generator towers. Thus, the company uses laminated veneer lumber to manufacture these structures, which provides multiple benefits compared to those made of steel.

These include the reduction of emissions by 90%, as it is estimated that each 150-meter tower saves 2000 tons of CO2 emissions. Additionally, the structures also act as a carbon sink, as they are capable of capturing CO2 in their fibers, allowing a wind energy plant built with this technology to be carbon neutral.

Furthermore, the fact that they are made of wood allows reaching higher altitudes and stronger winds, which translates into a greater generation of power. This is coupled with the increased resistance of the laminated veneer lumber compared to steel, which reduces the weight of the tower by up to 30%. The construction method contemplates modules, which facilitates logistics, transportation and assembly: they can be moved with normal trucks, without the obstruction of highways, and construction is possible even in places with limited access.

CMPC Ventures Fund: promoting an entrepreneurial ecosystem

The investment in Modvion is part of the Innovation Fund’s portfolio of US$ 100 million with which CMPC Ventures invests in startups and companies at early stages to drive their global scalability, as well as promote R&D development through collaboration with the academia and innovation centers. 

This is because the company is determined to contribute with bio-based solutions that meet the needs of the next century. To this end, CMPC has set specific goals in this matter: 30% of process improvements by 2025 must come from innovation, digitalization or data use; 20% of compliance with sustainable development goals must be achieved through innovation, new or disruptive technologies for CMPC; and by 2025, 10% of sales must come from new and innovative products or business models.

To date, the fund has already invested more than US$ 20 million in startups, projects and alliances of various kinds. One of them is the Finish startup Boreal Bioproducts, with whom it signed a collaboration agreement to explore the use of CMPC’s wood by-products in the process carried out by the European company to manufacture products for the chemical and cosmetics industries so that elements such as shampoo and sunscreen, among others, are made from bio-based ingredients and do not contain fossil components. 

These alliances join the investment in Pulpex, an English company that creates paper bottles with certified fibers from sustainable sources that is currently scaling its production, aimed at leading global consumer brands. 

Moreover, the Finish startup Woamy uses CMPC cellulose to manufacture a bio-based foam material created to substitute other plastic foams such as expanded polystyrene. The invention is recyclable, biodegradable, light and resistant.