The Venture Codex

Led · Series A · Oct 2023

Montinutra transforms forest sidestreams such as sawdust, bark and plywood residues into sustainable, high-value biochemicals intended to replace fossil alternatives in chemicals and cosmetics. The company has developed novel, zero-waste, closed-loop manufacturing methods to extract hemicellulose- and lignin-based ingredients from forest waste. Its products are natural, vegan, non-GMO and biodegradable, and target applications including industrial binders, barrier coatings, dispersants and personal care products. Montinutra currently produces its Boreal Bioproducts® SpruceSugar™ at a pilot plant in Turku and announced a partnership with Ole Hyvä Luonnontuote in spring 2023 for a personal care range. The company will soon rebrand as Boreal Bioproducts and plans to scale via an industrial demo production plant. It has set a target to have the demo plant operational by 2026 and aims to reach €100 million in annual revenue by 2035.

Led · Seed · Feb 2023

Fiberwood is a Finnish deep tech company that refines wood-industry side streams such as mechanical wood residues and recycled wood into plastic-free, recyclable and compostable fibre boards. Its patented technology produces high-performance components with thermal performance, structural durability, fire safety, moisture resistance, and material longevity, aiming to replace fossil-based insulation in construction. The company serves B2B customers across the Nordic and European building materials sector who integrate the fibre components into existing products under their own brands. Fiberwood is building a demo production line in Järvenpää, Finland, to enable pilot project deliveries and to validate new side streams and performance at scale. It secured a €3.1M grant from the EU LIFE Programme to support production optimisation, side-stream validation, and final performance testing, and had previously raised €10.7M from investors such as Metsä Spring, Stephen Industries, and public innovation funds. Founded in 2019, Fiberwood is preparing for international growth and seeking partners across the European construction value chain to accelerate market readiness. Fiberwood develops technology and a production process to make recyclable, breathable, compostable insulation and packaging materials from forestry side streams and natural fibres. The company positions its products as ecological alternatives to mineral wool insulation and cellular-plastic packaging cushioning. Fiberwood is preparing to enter a commercial phase and aims for international growth, with several product development projects underway with strategic customers and initial commercial agreements close to finalisation. The new funding will be used to construct a test line to finalise the product concept, ensure industrial scalability and accelerate R&D activities. Management says the test line will enable manufacture of fully market-compatible products for customers' commercial projects and reduce risks ahead of a future production line. Founded in 2019 and based in Järvenpää, Finland, Fiberwood is building on prior development funding to move toward commercialisation. Fiberwood develops insulation sheets for building interiors using spare wood fibres left over from bark processing, leveraging trees' natural air pockets to improve thermal performance. The company positions its product as a more ecological alternative to polystyrenes and mineral wools. Market estimates cited in the article put interior insulation materials at roughly a €25 billion market, and the piece notes broader construction emissions challenges that make wood-based materials increasingly attractive. Fiberwood says using wood fibres could support greener homes as wood use in construction rises. The company recently completed a financing of roughly €3 million (reported in the article also as $3 million). Proceeds are intended to build a pilot construction plant in preparation for industrial-scale manufacturing.