For three days in May, the Bio-LUSH consortium gathered in Espoo, Finland, hosted by our partners at VTT, for the project’s M36 General Assembly.
As Bio-LUSH enters its final year, the meeting was an opportunity to take stock of how far we’ve come and where we’re heading next. Partners shared progress from across the value chain, covering everything from biomass characterisation and pulping technologies to fibres, films, composites, sustainability assessments, and pilot-scale activities. With work advancing on materials derived from hemp, nettle, wood pulp, and seagrass, partners presented encouraging results from ongoing research, material development, and pilot-scale activities.
Of course, no General Assembly is complete without stepping away from the meeting room.
Between discussions, our colleagues at VTT gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of their laboratories in Espoo, where many of the ideas discussed around the table are put into practice every day. It was a chance to see the research up close, meet the people making it happen, and, naturally, put on the safety glasses.
The visit continued at Bioruukki, VTT’s pilot facility and one of Europe’s largest open-access platforms for scaling up bio-based innovations. Seeing the pilot-scale equipment in action was a valuable reminder that bringing sustainable materials to market takes teamwork, extensive testing, continuous optimisation, and a great deal of persistence.
A big thank you to VTT for hosting us, opening their doors, and showing us the impressive work happening behind the scenes. And thank you to all Bio-LUSH partners for the productive discussions, insights, and positive energy throughout the meeting.
The next chapter of Bio-LUSH is already underway—and we’re excited to see what the coming months will bring.
