Join us at Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference (NWBC) to hear the latest discoveries and innovations in bio-based materials, chemicals, and products from wood biorefineries. NWBC will be held in Helsinki, 25-27 October 2022.
Programme
Monday 24/Oct/2022
11:30 - 14:30 Side event:
Nordic Research and Technology Infrastructure Workshop
15:00 - 17:00 Visit to Bioruukki
Bus transportation from Scandic Park Hotel and back,
Bus leaves from hotel at 14.30
16:00 - 18:00 Pitching training session, PhD Students
Wonder, Future Hub VTT, Tekniikantie 21, Espoo
Tuesday 25/Oct/2022
8:30 - 17:30 Registration
9:00 - 9:15 Opening of the conference
Dr. Antti Vasara, President & CEO of the VTT Technical Research
Centre of Finland
9:15 - 9:45 Keynote, Jori Ringman, Director General at Cepi
Cepi is the European association representing the paper industry
The Green Deal with Wood Biorefineries
9:45 - 10:45 Keynote, Nordic RTOs collaboration on testbeds and
technology infrastructures strengthens the impact on
European green transition
Karin Johnson, CEO at RISE Processum AB
Professor of Practice, Mika Härkönen, VTT
Keynote, FinnCERES Flagship
– A Competence Centre for the Materials Bioeconomy
Research Professor, Tekla Tammelin, VTT
10:45 - 11:15 Coffee & poster viewing
11:15 - 12:35 Engineered lignin products (Part 1)
details in PDF
12:35 - 13:35 Lunch
13:35 - 15:15 Low emission biorefineries and side-stream valorization (Part 1)
details in PDF
15:15 – 16:45 Coffee & poster session
16:45 – 17:45 Pitching
19:00 - 20:30 Helsinki City Reception, Helsinki City Hall
Wednesday 26/Oct/2022
8:00 - 9:00 PhD Student Breakfast, Ravintola Töölönranta
8:30 - 17:00 Registration
9:00 - 9:30 Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2022 winner keynote
Organic superbase salts (ILs) for cellulose dissolution and biomass
processing
Professor, Ilkka Kilpeläinen, University of Helsinki
9:30 - 11:10 Circularity of wood sourced carbon and emerging policies
details in PDF
Novel cellulose modifications
details in PDF
11:10 - 11:40 Coffee & poster viewing
11:40 - 13:00 Structure – function – performance interrelations in materials
engineering
details in PDF
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:30 Panel discussion
The challenges and opportunities of Lignin
Participants will be announced soon
14:30 - 15:50 Low emission biorefineries and side-stream valorization (Part 2)
details in PDF
15:50 - 16:30 Coffee & poster viewing
16:30 - 17:30 Low emission biorefineries and side-stream valorization (Part 2)
details in PDF
19:00 - 23:00 Conference Dinner & The Gullichsen Award, Restaurant Pörssi
Thursday 27/Oct/2022
8:00 - 16:00 Registration
9:00 - 9:30 Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2022 winner keynote
Novel cellulose fibers from steam-exploded birch wood as the main
product in a new biorefinery concept
Professor, Herbert Sixta, Aalto
9:30 - 10:30 Turning research success to commercial success
Juuso Konttinen, Vice President, UPM
Åsa Ek, Acting SVP Head of Innovation, Division Biomaterials,
Stora Enso
Niklas von Weymarn, CEO, Metsä Spring Oy
Kristiina Kruus, Dean in the School of Chemical Engineering in
Aalto University
Johannes Bogren, Vice President, Södra
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee & poster viewing
11:00 – 11:20 Lignin-based functional fillers - a disruptive innovation
Invited speaker, Dr.-Ing. Tobias Wittmann, SunCoal Industries GmbH
11:20 – 12:40 Wood based textile solutions
details in PDF
12:40 - 13:40 Lunch
13:40 - 15:00 Engineered lignin products
details in PDF
15:00 - 15:30 Coffee
15:30 - 16:30 Engineered lignin products
details in PDF
16:30 - 16:45 Closing the conference and announcing the next NWBC
Site visit to Bioruukki
Visit VTT Bioruukki Pilot Centre on Monday 24.10.2022 afternoon at 15.00-17.00. The site visit fee per person is 50,00 € (incl. VAT) and you can save your seat when registering to the conference.
We will organise transportation from hotel Scandic Park to Bioruukki and back to the hotel after the visit. Travel time is about 30 min one way.
NOTE: Limited amount of 40 seats available!
Helsinki City reception
The City of Helsinki will host a reception to NWBC attendees in Helsinki City Hall (Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13) on 25.10 at 19.00 – 20.30.
Conference dinner
The dinner will take place at Restaurant Pörssi. Pörssi, the Gray Granite House, was built between 1911 and 1912. The building is commonly kept as one of the 20th century’s most impressive works of Finnish jugend-architecture. Designed by architect Lars Sonck. Brokers left the house in the early 1990s when the stock exchange moved to electronic securities trading.
Location: Pörssi Restaurant (Fabianinkatu 14) is 2 km from Scandic Park Helsinki, 30 min walk or 15 min by tram (Nro 4).
Side event: Nordic Research and Technology Infrastructure Workshop
Welcome to the Nordic Research and Technology Infrastructure Workshop to identify Nordic collaboration opportunities, strengths and industry needs for Nordic bioeconomy testbeds on 24.10.2022 at 11.30-14.30.
We invite all stakeholders (Research Infrastructure owners, companies, public authorities, funding authorities, innovation organizations…) with an interest in bioeconomy Research and Technology Infrastructures (RI/TI) to participate in the Nordic Research and Technology Infrastructure Workshop.
The purpose of this workshop is to discuss about Nordic Research Infrastructure collaboration and funding opportunities, strengths and industry needs from Nordic perspectives.
Speakers
We are proudly presenting our Keynote speakers Director General Jori Ringman from Cepi, Professor Ilkka Kilpeläinen, Professor Herbert Sixta, CEO Karin Johnsson, Professor of Practice Mika Härkönen.
We also have an excellent panel discussion coming up with Vice President Juuso Konttinen, Acting SVP Head of Innovation Åsa Ek, CEO Niklas von Weymarn, Dean Kristiina Kruus and Vice President Johannes Bogren.
Moderator
Luckily André Noël Chaker has agreed to be our moderator for the event. Here some thoughts about what forest means to him.
As both a Canadian and a Finn, the forest has played many important roles throughout my life. As a young Summer camp counsellor, I used the forest for educating, physical development and strengthening resilience. Now, as a forest owner, the forest has brought many economic, health and even spiritual benefits to me and my family. When we take good care of our forests, they take good care of us.
Registration
Registration is now open.
Have you submitted an abstract? Please don't use this registration link – you will receive a personal registration link from our Conference Office.
Registration fees
- Early bird registration fee until 31.8.2022 is 890,00 € incl. VAT 24%
- Registration fee after 31.8.2022 is 1150,00 € incl. VAT 24%
- PhD student fee is 400,00 € incl. VAT 24%
- 30 student (fee 400 € incl. VAT 24%) seats reserved for students who will provide a presentation, poster or take part in pitching event.
- Students are requested to submit their abstract timely (by 30.4.) and also send a recommendation letter from their supervisor.
- Please send the recommendation letter to nwbc2022@vtt.fi
- Site visit to VTT Bioruukki Pilot Centre 50,00 € incl. VAT 24%
Payment and cancellation
- Payment is done by credit card or with an invoice. For invoices a separate fee of 15 € will be charged. No cash is accepted.
- Administration fee 200 € (incl. VAT 24%) will be charged of cancellations until 23 of June 2022 after which the cancellation fee is 700 € (incl. VAT 24%).
- For PhD students the cancellation fee is 200 € (incl. VAT 24%) before 23rd of June, after which the cancellation fee is 400€ (incl. VAT 24%).

Organisers
NWBC is a cooperation between VTT in Finland and RISE in Sweden.
The event gathers expert speakers from the chemical, energy, pulp and paper industry as well as recognized representatives from the global research community.
The local host’s contact info: nwbc2022@vtt.fi
Atte Virtanen (head of local host, VTT), Vice President
Katariina Torvinen (VTT), Research Manager
Merja Laamanen (VTT), Coordinator
Jessica Vepsäläinen (VTT), Assistant
To get the latest up-to-date information about the conference, keep following news on this event page.

The Conference Venue
The NWBC2022 conference will be held at the Vision 1-3 meeting rooms in Scandic Park Helsinki. A magnificently renovated hotel right next to Helsinki city centre and close to excellent transport connections, 1,4 km from the railway station and bus station, 10 min with tram. Link to map.

Hotels & Travel
The Conference hotel is Scandic Park Helsinki. The lounge-like hotel lobby, comprehensive meeting and function spaces, and all of the hotel rooms were recently completely refurbished. You can use the newest equipment at the BeAlive Health Club gym, adjacent to the hotel.
Mannerheimintie 46, 00260 Helsinki, Finland (Link to map)
Tel: +358 300 308 407
E-mail: parkhelsinki@scandichotels.com
Accommodation allotment information:
Allotment code BTEK251022
Time: 24.10. - 28.10.2022
Room type: Standard
Rate:
130 € / single room / night
140 € / double or twin room / night
Rates always include: breakfast, wireless internet
Booking:
Everyone books their own room. Please use the allotment code BTEK251022 when making a booking from http://www.scandichotels.fi/?bookingcode=BTEK251022, by phone +358 9 4272 2524 or email parkhelsinki@scandichotels.com.
The rooms are available until Oct 11th, 2022 or depending on the hotel’s booking situation. Cancellation policy: No costs if cancelled until arrival day by 18.00!
Other hotels in Helsinki:
Crowne Plaza Helsinki - Hesperia
Original Sokos Hotel Presidentti
Hotel Arthur
more hotels at Booking.com
Letter of invitation
On request, the Meeting Organiser will provide a personal invitation to participate in the meeting. Such an invitation is only meant to help the invited participants obtaining a visa. It does not represent any commitment on the part of the organisers to provide any financial support.
Insurance
Please check the validity of your own insurance. The Meeting organisers cannot accept liability for personal injuries sustained or loss of, or damage to, property belonging to delegates or the registered accompanying persons during the Meeting.
Extend your stay!
If you have the possibility to extend your stay in Helsinki, please do. Helsinki is a beautiful city. Additionally, the old Hansa town Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is only a 2 hours boat trip away from Helsinki, which gives you the opportunity to do as may other Finnish tourists do each year, i.e., visit the city for day (or more).
Call for abstracts is closed
Themes this year are:
- Low emission biorefineries and side-stream valorization
- Engineered lignin products
- Novel cellulose modifications
- High performing wood-based products for industrial scale
- Structure – function – performance interrelations in materials engineering (including modeling)
- Wood-based textile solutions
- Circularity of wood-sourced carbon and emerging policies
- Assessing environmental aspects
In the review process submitted abstracts will be defined as oral presentations and posters. The review process will be finished in June and review results will be communicated to writers. Full manuscript and poster submission deadline will be September 12th. The full manuscript will be published in the Conference Proceedings.
If the presenting author is a PhD student, the person is a candidate for the Award(s) via pitching session held in the conference. If you are an eligible candidate and interested to win Award(s), you can specify it in the abstract submission portal.
Scientific committee
- Per Tomani, RISE
- Florian Graichen, SCION
- Mikael Hannus, Stora Enso
- Gustav Nyström, EMPA
- Lauri Sikanen, LUKE
- Kristiina Kruus, Aalto
- Emily Cranston, UBC
- Orlando Rojas, Aalto / UBC
- Hanna Hörhammer, VTT
- Peter Axegård, C-Green Technologies
- Paul Stuart, Polytechnique Montrèal & EnVertis Inc.
- Marcelo C.S. Muguet, Klabin