New Solutions Identified for the Utilization of ThermoWood® Dust in Lunawood’s Innovation Challenge
Lunawood invited in its “Best from Dust” innovation challenge, companies and teams to develop new ways to utilize the dust generated during ThermoWood® production. Currently, the dust is mainly used for energy, but Lunawood is seeking higher-value applications — solutions that support circularity and reduce the carbon footprint. The goal was to identify feasible ideas that could be quickly piloted and scaled for commercial use.
Lunawood and the business accelerator BioBoosters jointly launched the innovation challenge in September 2025. Based on the applications, five teams were invited to a joint workshop at Lunawood’s mill in Iisalmi at the end of October. During the workshop, the teams presented their solutions and assessed their feasibility according to Lunawood’s selection criteria. The discussions revealed several promising directions—some ideas are ready for rapid pilot projects, while others require further development.
The teams’ proposals demonstrated the versatile potential of ThermoWood® dust. Xylo Gas Oy and SFTec Oy focused on the possibilities of biochar production. Biochar has diverse markets, for example in growing media, water purification, and industrial processes. In addition, Epira Oy explored the use of ThermoWood® dust in compost bedding, and Klapi Shoppi Oy also examined its potential in this context.
A special mention for innovation was awarded to Finnmycel Oy, which investigated how ThermoWood® dust could be used as a growth medium for mycelium cultivation, enabling the production of various high-value biobased materials.
Following the workshop, Lunawood will continue discussions with several teams.
“The innovation challenge confirmed that ThermoWood® dust holds many opportunities within the circular economy. We are pleased to have attracted teams with concrete and scalable ideas,” says Pauliina Tynkkynen, Lunawood’s Sustainability Manager.
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The five selected teams gathered at Lunawood’s mill in Iisalmi to present their solutions for utilizing ThermoWood® dust.
