Insights

Finnish biotech company MetGen has received €500,000 of EU funding for a research project focusing on the efficient and sustainable extracting of lignin and hemicelluloses from the cellulose production process and using them as bio-based resources in different industries.

Fortum is launching a significant development project that aims to manufacture high-value products from agro residues and woody biomass to replace the use of fossil and other environmentally taxing raw materials. The project will be a part of Business Finland’s Bio and Circular Finland Program, which is aiming to make Finland the forerunner of the circular economy. Spinverse has actively participated in project planning and preparation.

Suomen Tilaajavastuu Oy was selected as one of the five Growth Engines in a competitive bidding by Business Finland. Spinverse assisted the company win 5 million euros as capital loan for the development of a data platform for the construction and real estate business. Growth engine status is granted for platform companies capable of building business worth more than 1 BEUR.

Allergy is a huge problem especially in the developed countries. Although it is seldom life-threatening, the sheer number of patients makes the condition a serious concern for societies. Globally, allergic diseases already affect one billion people and the number is increasing. Allergies restrict the lives of the patients, decrease productivity, cause missed work and school days and place economic burden to both individuals and societies.

City of Espoo received the 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year award given by the Intelligent Community Forum at its Global Summit in London June 6, 2018. Espoo was honored in its first year as a competitor in the program after a year-long evaluation that included a quantitative analysis of extensive data, site inspections by the Intelligent Community Forum and votes from an international jury made up of experts from around the world.

Allergies and asthma affect at least a quarter of the population. While often harmless, an increasing number of people suffer from severe allergies, resulting in more than 300.000 avoidable deaths per year. The WHO therefore declared allergy a major health problem of the 21st century. Currently, medical practitioners must pre-select very few allergens for in-vitro testing, based on prior anamnesis, which often results in false or incomplete diagnosis. There is no cost-efficient technology to improve the quality of diagnosis to an optimal level for patient-tailored and evidence-based treatment. The fast-growing segment of molecular diagnostic tests requires a new generation of assays and laboratory automation.

MetGen's CTO, Matti Heikkilä, and Laura Koponen, Managing Director of Spinverse were on Finnish national tv, Huomenta Suomi, discussing the grand vision: wood to replace oil. In practice wood will be used to produced products, which are currently made from oil, starting with packaging materials. Moreover, the SWEETWOODS project, a consortium of nice European companies,  has received 21M€  of EU-funding with the aim of producing wood-based biomaterials for the first time on an industrial scale. These wood-based materials can be used to replace plastic in various everyday applications.

SWEETWOODS is a 43-million-euro joint pilot project that was recently granted 21 million euros in funding under the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme’s Bio-Based Industries financial instrument. Horizon 2020 is the biggest research and innovation programme in the world, supporting the development and introduction of new technologies. SWEETWOODS represented the only flagship project in the bioeconomy sector. The project is implemented through collaborative efforts of nine partner companies.

LuxTurrim5G, the Nokia Bell Labs driven collaborative ecosystem project coordinated by Spinverse, enabled Espoo City to reach the finals of the Intelligent Community of 2018 contest. The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced the seven finalists on the 8th of February in New York. The think tank describes the finalists as cities that have done the leap from Smart Cities to Intelligent Communities.