Candidates 2023

Buildings and construction have a significant impact on the environment. They account for about one third of Finland's greenhouse gas emissions and about 40 per cent of energy consumption. Energy efficiency in buildings will play a key role in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Finland's Energy and Climate Strategy 2016 highlights the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of construction and construction products. Wood-based insulation materials correspond to the expected value set for the circular economy and the green transition, as they act like wood as carbon sinks, i.e. they bind carbon throughout their life cycle.

At the beginning of the year, Fiberwood received three million euros in funding. The leading investor is MetsäSpring Oy. With the funding, the company will build a continuous test line to ensure the technological solutions of the production line, since ready-made machines and processes are not commercially available. The aim is to pilot the products during 2024 and start a new funding round for investments in production plants.

Finland has the world's best knowledge of forest resources. The method used in several countries utilises laser scanning and map data to reconcile diversity and financial management objectives. The information collected with the accuracy of one tree enables, for example, the mapping of the amount of decaying wood and the identification of even very small herb-rich forests and brooksides suitable for conservation purposes. 

Arbonaut also maps the carbon sequestration of forests, which requires reliable information on the initial situation and monitoring methods for verifying changes. Terrestrial carbon sequestration and their changes are measured using a method based on artificial intelligence, remote sensing and off-road measurements that follows international good practices and meets certification requirements. 

Drought, forest fires, storm winds and increasing insect populations pose a threat to sustainable forest management. A method based on laser scanning and satellite image sharing can be used to identify, for example, an individual tree that has died due to insect damage and to generate predictions of the spread of damage for the purpose of combating the damage.

Chaga is inoculated in trees in an area of 200 hectares each year. When they are harvested, KÄÄPÄ Biotech collects them and commits to buying them at market price. For example, when the price in Russia has been between 10 and 15 euros per kilo, KÄÄPÄ Biotech has doubled it, which provides good profit expectations. With the cultivation of chaga, the forest owner receives additional income from low yielding downy birch forests and the log birch tree trunks that are removed when thinning. The KÄÄPÄ Forest method is used to provide chaga income in addition to the log income, not instead of it.

Globally, the availability of raw material for chaga is decreasing and the demand is growing, especially in the food and cosmetics industry. KÄÄPÄ Biotech processes dozens of tonnes of raw material each year, producing several tonnes of extract as both dry powder and liquid extract. In addition to China, the company has development project partners in South Korea and the United States as well. The product is subject to clinical studies on its suitability for human and animal use and cosmetics. 

KÄÄPÄ Biotech is currently extracting seven medical fungi using an ultrasound method that breaks their composition. This allows exploiting 90 per cent of their properties. In the future, it will be important that the refining process can take place in Finland for as long as possible.