How can underused natural fibres become high-value materials for future manufacturing?
This question is at the heart of BIO-2-PRINT, an international project developing new uses for side streams from forestry, agriculture, and industry. Since the project began in March 2025, the work has progressed from mapping regional resources and stakeholders towards material testing and preparations for pilot-scale 3D printing.
For Innomost, the project opens an important route to explore new applications for birch bark-derived materials. It also brings together the expertise needed to move from an interesting raw material to a technically viable and commercially relevant solution.
From local side streams to advanced materials
BIO-2-PRINT brings together six partners from Finland, Sweden and Ireland. The project is investigating how underutilised natural fibres can be combined with polymers or concrete to create composite materials for additive manufacturing. Potential end uses include 3D-printed components, tools and design elements, as well as applications in construction.
The project also explores another promising area: extracting compounds from natural raw materials and assessing their potential as functional additives. Rather than acting only as fillers, bio-based compounds could add useful properties to polymer composites and concrete materials.
This is particularly relevant to Innomost. Our patented technology transforms Nordic birch bark, an existing forest industry side stream, into high-value bio-based materials. Through BIO-2-PRINT, we can investigate how the distinctive properties of birch bark and its compounds could create value in new material systems and applications.
Practical progress in material development
During the first phase, the consortium mapped underused fibres and relevant stakeholders across the Northern Periphery and Arctic region. This work has connected research organisations, raw material suppliers, composite manufacturers, construction companies, and regional business networks.
At the partner meeting this week, the consortium reviewed progress in feedstock preparation, composite formulation, and 3D printing. Inner bark and waste materials from the boat industry have been identified as promising materials for further work. The project team has also produced and tested 3D-printed samples made from inner bark-based composites, providing practical information for the next development stage.
The work builds on the earlier BIOPRINT preparatory project, in which bark and other natural side streams were processed into composite granules and filaments. In those initial trials, outer bark combined with PLA showed promising plasticizing effect, while other combinations required further development.
New opportunities for Innomost
Innomost’s established focus is on creating high-value ingredients and materials from birch bark. BIO-2-PRINT expands the application landscape into additive manufacturing and advanced composites, areas in which demand for renewable and circular raw materials is growing.
The project creates several important opportunities for Innomost such as new applications for birch bark -derived compounds, technical validation of processability, compatibility and performance in material systems and functional additive development. Cooperation with material scientists, 3D printing specialists, construction experts and industrial companies helps us all to understand application requirements and identify potential development partners and customers.
This cross-sector collaboration is especially valuable when introducing new material. Customers need evidence of how it performs in their processes and products. Samples, formulations, testing, application development and feedback are all essential steps towards commercialisation.
Developing materials around industry needs
The industrial perspective has been present throughout the project. At a BIO-2-PRINT webinar “Best Practices for Bio-based Industries and Local Communities: Circular Value Chains and 3D Printing with Natural Materials” this week, the researchers, raw material suppliers, technology specialists and potential users discussed the requirements for wider adoption of bio-based composite materials.
Innomost founder and CTO Dr Sami Selkälä gave presentation in the Webinar about birch bark side streams from the forest industry. Selkälä presentation included content and compounds of birch bark to provide a theoretical basis for their applications as bio-based additives or materials. The discussion highlighted important considerations such as consistent quality and supply.
These topics closely reflect Innomost’s approach to material development. A sustainable raw material must also solve a practical problem for the customer. The strongest opportunities arise when renewable origin is combined with functionality, reliable performance and commercial value.
Towards new circular material value chains
BIO-2-PRINT aims to build value chains in which local side streams can be collected, processed, and used as close to their source as possible. This can keep biomass in productive use for longer, reduce dependence on virgin raw materials, and create new business opportunities in northern regions.
The next stages of the project include further material development, compounding, pilot-scale 3D printing, demonstrations, and cooperation with regional companies. These activities will help the partners assess which solutions have the strongest potential for industrial testing and future scale-up.
For Innomost, participation supports a broader strategic opportunity: extending the value of birch bark across new industries and applications. The project allows us to combine our knowledge of birch bark chemistry and processing with expertise in composites, additive manufacturing and construction. This creates a stronger foundation for developing future bio-based materials around real market needs.
BIO-2-PRINT continues until February 2028. As the project advances, we look forward to learning more about what birch bark can bring to the next generation of circular materials and manufacturing solutions.
Learn more on the BIO-2-PRINT project website.
The BIO-2-PRINT project is funded by the Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and co-funded by the European Union.
