Swedish startup to build pilot plant for wood-based material that purifies the air

Swedish startup Adsorbi has secured €1mn to ramp up production of a cellulose-based material that sucks up pollutants from the air. 

Metsä Spring, the venture arm of the Finnish forestry giant, led the funding round alongside Chalmers Ventures and Jovitech Invest.

“We are planning to launch the pilot plant in June and we will be equipped to meet our customer demands while maintaining consistent quality,” Hanna Johansson, CEO of Adsorbi, told TNW via email. The facility will have an expected capacity of 100 tonnes per year.

Johansson co-founded Adsorbi in 2022 alongside Christian Löfvendahl, Romain Bordes, and Kinga Grenda. The team spun out the company from materials research at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.  

Bordes and Grenda, the chief researchers, originally wanted to develop new ways to protect works of art from harmful pollution. But in the process, they discovered a way to turn cellulose from Sweden’s abundant forests into an air purification material with wide-ranging applications.

Adsorbi’s material can be used wherever gaseous air pollutants are a problem, from air filters to products that remove odours. Continuing the team’s initial objective, the startup also works with museums to protect artefacts and artworks.

The substance — which looks like little, white pieces of sponge — promises a better, greener alternative to activated carbon, the current market standard. 

Adsorbi claims its product lasts longer, doesn’t release any hazardous organic compounds back into the air, and is water and fire-resistant. Plus, the material has half the carbon footprint of activated carbon, the startup said. Handily, the substance also changes colour to indicate when it needs to be replaced.

“Air pollutant control is needed in many markets, and we’re ready to offer a commercial solution that ensures the air we breathe is clean without extensive use of fossil-based materials,” said Johansson. 

Air pollution is something we usually associate with the outdoors. However, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, according to the American Lung Association. 

Adsorbi’s patented material is designed to capture nitrogen oxides like nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) — major contributors to air pollution — as well as acids and aldehydes. The latter is commonly found in cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning products, odourant dispensers, and grooming aids.  

Last September, Adsorbi launched eco-friendly shoe deodoriser inserts in partnership with footwear giant Icebug and odour reducer Smellwell. The company said it is also working with multinational air filtration companies on several other products, including air fresheners and sustainable art conservation products.