Batteries from trees – enabling sustainable electrification

Published 22 November 2022

Increasing demands for electrification mean more and more batteries are needed. Societies are built around electrification. Batteries are everywhere. This is true now, but it will also be true for the years to come at an ever-increasing pace. We need to find new and smart solutions to meet the demands of the future - solutions based on renewable materials.

As a renewable natural resource, wood represents a favourable alternative to fossil-based and other non-renewable materials, and as such, trees are pivotal in fighting climate change. Trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and that carbon stays in the fibers when they are made into products, even through recycling. Carbon storage can be increased by substituting materials from finite resources with renewable alternatives. With Lignode® by Stora Enso, we use lignin from sustainably managed Nordic forests and turn into an anode material for batteries.

One of the challenges of today's lithium-ion batteries is the use of graphite. Graphite is a non-renewable carbon which is either mined or made from fossil-based materials. At Stora Enso, we have dedicated ourselves to coming up with a solution where graphite is replaced with hard carbon from lignin, a side stream of pulp production.

Today more than ever, we need to find sustainable solutions and innovate with materials that can grow back. Products such as Lignode® are needed to create a more sustainable future. Lignode® and lignin are not trends, they are here to stay and to revolutionise the battery market.