Sustainable Power Revolution: Finnish Forest Giant Develops Tree-Based Batteries

Finnish forest owner Stora Enso is working with Swiss battery maker Altris to develop tree-based energy storage batteries.

Demand for efficient and sustainable energy storage solutions is rising as the globe moves toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind. To meet this demand, Stora Enso, recognized for its enormous forest reserves, and Altris, a pioneer in sodium-based battery technology, are developing tree-based batteries.

The "Grandfather Tree," a western red cedar, stands in the forest at a protest camp for the Fairy Creek anti-old growth logging blockade, 18kms (11 miles) northeast of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, Canada, on September 6, 2021.

According to Interesting Engineering, the collaboration uses Stora Enso's Lignode, made from lignin, which accounts for 30% of a tree. Researchers are exploring lignin, rich in carbon, as a sustainable battery anode alternative to China, which dominates the graphite supply. The situations prompts for additional sources to stabilize and diversify the supply chain, particularly in Europe.

Stora Enso Senior Vice President and Head of Biomaterials Growth Juuso Konttinen stated that bio-based materials enhance the sustainability of battery cells, hence their collaboration with Altris is in line with their aim for greater sustainable electrification.

While lithium-based batteries are the most energy-dense storage option, their supply chain complexity has spurred the hunt for alternatives. A promising alternative is Altris' batteries that employ sodium, a plentiful and readily available material, possibly to improve the Western energy storage supply chain.

Stora Enso-Altris Collaboration: A Perfect Match

Altris, an Uppsala University spin-off, makes cathodes, electrolytes, battery cells, and commercial battery plans. Their capabilities make it a good fit for Stora Enso's lignin battery project.

Altris CEO Björn Mårlid emphasizes the importance of local supply chains and clean materials in developing sodium-ion batteries. The executive hopes that their collaboration with Stora Enso "will evolve" to make "the world's most sutainable battery" marketable.

Stora Enso is developing Lignode as an eco-friendly battery component at its pilot facility in Kotka, Finland. This cooperation with Altris seeks to generate sustainable battery technology and minimize Europe's dependence on foreign resources.

Researchers are using waste lignin from the paper industry to make more sustainable and affordable battery components. Imperial College London and Rochester University studies show that lignin-derived polymers can improve battery performance and save production costs.

Eco-Friendly But Efficient Battery Soon to Come

Notably, the sustainability of lignin in batteries is important. The International Council on Clean Transportation's Chelsea Baldino emphasizes that anode manufacturing does not contribute to deforestation, provided that the lignin comes from paper industry leftovers.

Stora Enso says all of their lignin comes from pulping side streams and does not boost tree harvesting.
In a report from The Independent, Stora Enso researchers were able to turn lignin into hard carbon to form a low-cost, ultra-efficient anode.

Stora Enso Lignode head Lauri Lehtonen and his team call the result as revolutionary as it will be "very competitive" cost wise. The expert remarked that hard carbons can hit high charge rates beyond graphite's capacity. He said, a highly costly silicon can boost graphite limitations to 20 minutes from 40-50 minutes while it only takes eight minutes to charge lignin-based anodes.

As the globe shifts away from fossil fuels, management consultancy firm McKinsey predicts that the world's battery stockpiles would need 7,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) each year by 2030, per the BBC.

Most lithium-ion batteries, used in smartphones, cameras, electric cars, and drones, employ fossil-based graphite as an anode. This is despite high-capacity charging limits and environmental harm from mining and processing.

Lignin anodes are carbon-negative, but their unstructured form allows ions to enter from all angles and travel quicker than crystalline graphite, enabling faster charge and discharge rates.

Hence, developments of Lignin in battery technology may play a major role in the future generation of batteries as research improves, harmonizing with global goals for green and robust energy infrastructure.