Smurfit Kappa: First-Ever in World in Successful Trial of Hydrogen with HYFLEXPOWER Demonstrator

December29,2022

The HYFLEXPOWER consortium and Smurfit Kappa have announced the successful completion of the first stage of the HYFLEXPOWER project, an innovative research project on renewable energy. This project located at the Smurfit Kappa Saillat paper mill in France is the first in the world to introduce anintegratedhydrogengasturbinedemonstrator.

The highly innovative project involves significantcollaboration across several industries, academic bodies and research institutes, including ENGIE Solutions, Siemens Energy, Centrax, Arttic, German Aerospace Center (DLR), and four European universities.

The hydrogen pilot was successfully trialled last month with a mixof30percenthydrogenand70percentnaturalgas.Theaim of the HYFLEXPOWER project is to clearly demonstrate that renewableenergy can be converted to hydrogen and serve as a flexible means of storing energy which can then be used to poweranindustrialturbine.

The project officially marks the implementation of the world's very first industrial-scale power-to-X-to-power demonstrator with an advanced hydrogen turbine. In 2023, trials will continuetoincreasethehydrogenratioupto100percent.

Garrett Quinn, Chief Sustainability Officer of Smurfit Kappa, commented, “We are focused on reducing our emissions with the best available technology today, but equally this announcement demonstrates how we are focused on looking beyond 2030 and trialling new technology, such as hydrogen, today.This project will allow us and our partners to understand the technical feasibility of using hydrogen with a lot of our existing energy infrastructure. This is an exciting project for us, and industry in general, as we progress on our journey towards netzero.”

The project was inspired by the European Commission's (EC) 'Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe' report, which outlines the essential role that hydrogen will play within the European Green Deal carbon neutrality and energy transition initiative.

Commenting on the end of the initial testing phase, Gaël Carayon, Director of Subsidiaries at ENGIE Solutions, said, “Ambitious projects like this one require taking partnerships to the next level and being united in a joint mission to make decarbonisation a reality. Hydrogen will play a crucial role in the interaction between renewables and electricity storage and generation. ENGIE Solutions is proud to participate in this uniqueproject.”

Bertrand Muguet, Smurfit Kappa Saillat Paper Mill Manager, added, “We are delighted that the initial testing phase of the project was completed successfully at our Saillat paper mill. Smurfit Kappa is proud to be collaborating with our partners on this project which tests new technologies that we believe willformpartofournetzerodelivery.”

Dr. Ertan Yilmaz, HYFLEXPOWER Global Director at Siemens Energy, said, “With the HYFLEXPOWER project we are showcasing that carbon-neutral and reliable power supply is possible - even for energy-intensive industries. Hydrogenready turbines will play a decisive role in climate-neutral energy, so it is very exciting to be looking forward to the next phaseoftesting.”

The project, first announced in 2020, involves significant funding by the EC, with two-thirds of the EUR 15.2 million investment coming from the EU's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.The next trials for the HYFLEXPOWERprojectarescheduledforspring2023.n

Papira® By Stora Enso – Paper Recyclable Packaging Foam

December24,2022

Together with booming online shopping, the role of ecommerce packaging is growing. This means retailers are fighting for consumers' attention while striving to make the unboxing process as smooth as possible for their busy customers.

This surge in e-commerce behaviour also means that items must be packed in a shock-proof way. Cushioning is an essential part of protecting fragile goods from shock and vibration. However, the expanded plastic foams used in cushioning are currently made of crude oil and are hard to recycle. At the same time, national and global policies are underway to prevent the use of plastics that could potentially end up polluting the environment. How can we respond to thesetwoclashingmegatrendsinonego?

“The idea for recyclable cushioning foam arose in a research group led by Professor Lars Wågberg at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm,” says Ms. Paula Martirez, business developeratStoraEnso.

In the wake of this research, a company called Cellutech was established in 2013, serving as a link between academia and the industry. The idea was to bring cutting-edge materials to the market by developing innovative, renewable products usingrawmaterialsfromtheforest.

The group was able to use wood pulp in making stable foam that could be dried in an efficient way. The result was a light and strong material with good mechanical properties. Thanks to thorough research and development work, Papira® became entirely bio-based and recyclable, consisting of pulp and a small part of bio-based additives. It is also delivered as sheets in thesamewayaspolyethyleneandpolyurethane.

“Sheets are laminated on top of each other to build up the structure around the intended product held by the packaging. This production method enables complex packaging solutions foranyshapeofproduct,”Ms.Martirezexplains.

Acquired by Stora Enso in 2018, Cellutech joined the Stora Enso's Biomaterials division. After the development breakthrough, a pilot plant was built at the premises of Stora Enso's first fossil-CO₂ emission free board mill in Fors, Sweden. The new facility enabled the development, optimisation, and markettestingofPapira®.

“Themainpurposeofthepilotistovalidateboththeprocessand theusageofPapira®indifferentapplications.Withfeedbackfrom customers and different actors in the value chain we can preparefordifferentscenariosforthefuture,”sheadds.

Since the pilot plant has been up and running, the learning curvetooptimizetheprocesshasincreased.

“It is also the pilot's purpose that we learn how to scale the production to full commercialisation. All operationsof the pilot plant run completely fossil free, a fact that we take great pride in,”sheadds.

Currently, Stora Enso is working with multiple customers on performing tests and validation of the material and its properties in various applications. These projects include a variety of potential and current customers from different productssegments.

The idea is to make Papira® the new standard in protective packaging.To make this our reality, Stora Enso will gradually scale up operations while developing this material. Potential customers for Papira® include all who need to protect fragile products such as electronics, household appliances, furniture, industrial products,andexpensiveconsumerproductsduringtransport.

Intertrade Hellas Starts Up a Turnkey Tissue line of 244 TPD from A.Celli

Inadditiontothetissueline,A.CellihadalsoprovideditsDCSprocesscontrolsystem andanIndustry4.0-readyautomationplatformforIntertradeHellas'plant.

January13,2023

Intertrade Hellas has successfully started up an A.Celli tissue line at its plant in Inofyta, Viotia (Athens). The startup of the operations has been achieved in tandem with the stipulated timelinesoftheagreementbetweenthetwocompanies.

As per their press release, A.Celli turnkey tissue line delivered has produced its first batch of jumbo rolls on a timely basis. Moreover, the production operations are equivalent to the expectedspeedandproductquality.

The tissue production line is designed to manufacture topquality tissue paper from virgin fiber in view of Intertrade Hellas' specific request in terms of layout and desired productioncapacity.

The supply includes the following solutions: stock preparation line; A.Celli iDEAL® Master 2000L tissue machine with a web width of 5600 mm, design speed of 2100 MPM, and working speed of 2000 MPM; 16” Forged Yankee Dryer, with a width of 6085 mm; 5600 mm wide three-ply E-WIND® T200 slitter rewinder, with a speed of 1800 MPM; and R-WAY® automatic reel handling system composed of conveyor belt, wrapper, upenderandlabellingsystem.

A.Celli also provided its exclusively designed DCS process control system and an Industry 4.0-ready automation platform, developed to integrate the numerous systems implemented in IntertradeHellas'plant.

The tissue line is expected to reach a production capacity of 244 TPD or 221 TPD, respectively for tissue paper with a basis weightof20GSMand16GSM.

In the words of Mr. Ioannis Delidimos, CEO of Intertrade Hellas S.A.,“The A.Celli iDEAL® Master 2000L combines high efficiency and superb tissue quality with minimum energy consumption. Over the last 2 years A.Celli has been proven a valuable partner in every stage of the process. We are indeed very happy with our decision: A.Celli fulfills the highest standards in tissue machines.”

Mr. Alessandro Celli, Member of the A.Celli Paper Board of Directors,says,“Thisprojectstartedinfullspirit ofcollaboration with Intertrade, defining all the guidelines together. The successful start-up of the supplied line, which includes our exclusive forged Yankee Dryer, an automatic reel handling system and innovative Industry 4.0 solutions, is the result of the excellent collaboration between our two companies and trust placedbyIntertradeinourknow-howandtechnology.”n