LIFEMODWISE Project
A Sustainable Future for Construction and Packaging
Supported by funding from the European Union’s LIFE Programme, Fiberwood provides an environmental and climate-friendly alternative to conventional construction and packaging materials. Our biodegradable and recyclable solutions replace traditional, non-renewable insulation and packaging products, contributing to a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
Project Summary
The construction and packaging industries have a significant impact on the environment. Construction alone accounts for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and a third of energy consumption.
In addition, most insulation foams in the EU are non-renewable and non-compostable, with 98% ending up in landfills or nature. The production of plastic foams also utilises non-renewable resources and releases toxic chemicals and greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and methane.
Fiberwood offers an environmentally and climate-friendly alternative to the current standards of construction and packaging industry products.
Fiberwood has received €3.1 million in funding from the EU LIFE Programme and is presenting the LIFEMODWISE project to qualify, prove, and validate its breakthrough foam technology, aiming to achieve pre-commercial readiness.
The grant will enable the company to scale its wood-based insulation made from industrial side streams, paving the way for renewable, recyclable, and plastic-free insulation products across Europe.
The LIFEMODWISE project reinforces Fiberwood’s position as a pioneer in sustainable material innovation, showcasing how circular, bio-based solutions can replace fossil-based materials in key industries.
Overview
Project name: Leading Innovations For Efficient Multifunctional Optimized Demoline for Wood Insulation and Sustainable Environment
Participants: Fiberwood Oy
Project starting date: 1 September 2025
Duration: 27 months
Project Involves:
- Building a new and improved demo line.
- Testing and validation of new raw materials for product creation.
Final Outputs:
- Fully optimised, technically and economically validated array of sustainable construction and packaging products.
- A new and optimised demo line for the continuous testing of new raw materials and validation of the resulting products.
Together, these milestones pave the way for commercial production and a sustainable product portfolio for the future.
Work Packages:
- Final design and execution of multi-functional demo line
- Raw material sourcing
- Products’ manufacturing, monitoring and evaluation
- Sustainability, replication and exploitation of project results
- Project management and coordination
- Dissemination, communication and stakeholder engagement
Project updates:
LIFEMODWISE introduced at Pulp & Beyond 2026
Fiberwood introduced the LIFEMODWISE project at Pulp & Beyond 2026 in Helsinki, bringing the project publicly in front of industry professionals, partners and visitors from across the bio-based sector.
At the event, our team presented bio-based raw materials together with finished board samples from Fiberwood’s growing material portfolio. The stand highlighted the progress made in developing biodegradable and recyclable alternatives to conventional, non-renewable insulation materials.
Pulp & Beyond provided an excellent platform for discussions around sustainable materials, industrial scalability and the future of low-carbon solutions.
Fiberwood thanks Business Äänekoski for the cooperation, stand arrangements and support during the event!
Agro-fibers offer a new direction for sustainable material development
Agricultural side streams such as straw, hay, hemp and flax are gaining growing interest as industries look for alternatives to fossil-based materials. Across Europe, large amounts of valuable biomass are still burned, composted or left unused, even though these fibres could become an important raw material base for future bio-based solutions.
This potential is now being tested in practice as part of the LIFEMODWISE project. The project involves testing and validation of new raw materials for product creation, supporting Fiberwood’s work to develop sustainable materials for construction and packaging.
Senior Production and Material Technology Development Manager Jani Lehmonen studies how agro-fibres perform in industrial applications, focusing on both process compatibility and material performance.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
