Northvolt is ready to mine lignin from the forest trees located in Northern Europe to make the anodes of batteries for electric cars. This is not a paradox but the project that the Swedish company owned by BMW and Volkswagen intends to carry out collaboration with the paper company Stora Enso. Lignin is a polymer with a high phenolic content, the second component with the highest percentage of wood molecules (the first is cellulose) where it represents 20-30%. It has a high carbon content and is an excellent natural binder. This material would be extracted with sustainable and certified practices, without impacting the environment.
As part of the collaboration agreement, Stora Enso would supply the Lignode (name given to the anodic material) while Northvolt will take care of the design of the battery cells, in addition to technological research and the production cycle. “With this partnership – said Emma Nehrenheim, Northvolt’s Chief Environmental Officer -, we are evaluating a new source of sustainable raw material, expanding the battery value chain in Europe and, at the same time, developing cheaper battery chemistry ”. Lignin is expected to be produced in Sunila, Finland, in a factory that can guarantee an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons. Here there is also a pilot plant created for the production of materials containing biological carbon.
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