Innovation and R&D

In R&D, we focus on evolving customer needs

Innovation at the core of our operations

Valmet’s purpose is to lead the transformation of industries towards a regenerative tomorrow, laying the foundation of our research and development work. We focus on advancing circularity and resource efficiency throughout the customer lifecycle, leveraging our technologies and services to deliver leading lifecycle value, reliability, optimal customer experience, and market-leading digital capabilities.

500+

R&D professionals

1,400

protected inventions

>30

R&D centers

EUR 126

million R&D spending in 2025

Our R&D work is based on customers’ needs, such as improving production and resource efficiency, maximizing the value of raw materials, providing new revenue streams, and developing new innovations and technologies. We develop competitive, leading production and automation technologies and services.

To enhance raw material, water and energy efficiency in our customers’ production processes, we combine digitalization, process technology, flow control, automation systems and services. We also develop solutions for replacing fossil materials with renewable ones and for producing new high-value end products.

Valmet launches around 100 new products onto the market every year. These products are often created in close cooperation with our customers or our network of leading universities and research institutes around the world.

The integration of sustainability topics in our R&D operations is ensured through the sustainability criteria that are an integral part of our innovation process. The criteria ensure that an innovation increases resource efficiency, reduces emissions and improves safety. They also help ensure the innovation’s compliance with product and process safety legislation. Finally, they guarantee that sustainability benefits are integrated in the final product or solution to be launched.

Carbon neutral processes

Our target is to enable 100 percent carbon neutral production for all our pulp and paper customers by 2030  by developing new process technologies, and by improving the energy efficiency of its current offering by 20 percent. We have progressed well with this target, and today our technologies already enable carbon neutral board, tissue and paper production for customers with access to fossil-free energy sources. For energy customers, we have already long enabled carbon neutral heat and power production with our biomass-based energy solutions.

Enabling circular economy

Through our technology, automation and services offering, we have a key role in enabling our customers to apply a circular economy in their operations. With our solutions, customers can use and recover energy, water and chemicals more efficiently or minimize waste by using production side-streams from other applications, processes or even industries. Our energy technologies enable the conversion of waste to energy, and our comprehensive services and automation help customers to utilize these technologies for decades.

Improving efficiency with digitalization

More autonomous and optimized operations are key to improving operational performance in terms of productivity and environmental efficiency. This can be achieved with advanced automation and Industrial Internet solutions. Many companies are working to increase the autonomy of their mill or plant operations. We continuously work to help our customers to move towards more autonomous and optimized operations, starting from intelligent and connected process technology to process and mill-wide optimization.

Resource efficiency - more with less

In our R&D work, we focus on developing process technology, automation and services that improve raw material, energy, water and chemical efficiency. Our paper making technologies such as the OptiConcept M modular board and paper production line and Advantage NTT tissue production line allow significant savings in energy, water and raw material consumption. In pulp production, raw material and energy efficiency, combined with circularity, play an important role in more sustainable pulp production and allow to get more from less. 

From fossil to renewable materials

For biomass conversion Valmet has introduced several new technologies to the market, including LignoBoostTM for lignin separation, a pyrolysis solution for bio-oil production, and a gasifier for solid biomass and waste. We are also partnering in developing a new wood-based 3D fiber product for the global forest industry and in developing processes for textile recycling and cellulose-based textile fibers. We are also developing solutions to replace plastic with renewable materials and researching the possibilities to use recycled or even bio-based materials in production consumables in paper making.

Piloting opportunities

Valmet’s pilot facilities carry out both internal R&D and customer projects. Our pilot facilities enable us to decrease the time to market and reduce risks in commercializing new technologies. We offer our customers the opportunity to utilize Valmet’s pilot facilities to test new furnish or fuel, or to optimize their processes from the energy, raw material and water consumption perspective.

Our research and development work is complemented by a close cooperation with a network of world-leading research facilities and universities e.g. Aalto University, Jyväskylä University, Tampere Univeristy, Åbo Akademi and VTT in Finland, Chalmers, KTH, Uppsala University, Umeå University, Mitt Universitet and Innventia in Sweden, SINTEF in Norway, Universidade Federal de Viçosa and Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil, and Asian Institue of Technology AIT in Thailand. 

Explore our piloting locations and opportunities:

We operate multiple pilot facilities for internal R&D and customer projects. Our piloting services cater to paper, board, tissue, pulp, and energy-producing customers. These services empower customers to enhance performance, compare process configurations, test materials, and optimize existing or new processes. Modern laboratories within the facilities provide reliable test data, enabling quick adjustments during pilot trials. Ultimately, pilot trials reduce uncertainties related to material changes and investments.

Valmet piloting locations

Valmet pilot facilities map
On this image
  • 1 Green Bay, USA
  • 2 Sundsvall, Sweden
  • 3 Karlstad, Sweden
  • 4 Pori, Finland
  • 5 Tampere, Finland
  • 6 Jyväskylä, FInland
  • 7 Raisio, Finland
  • 8 Järvenpää, Finland
  • 9 Inkeroinen, Finland
  • 10 Foshan, China
  • 11 Lucca, Italy
  • 12 Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • 13 Joinville, Brazil
  • 14 LignoBoost mobile pilot plant

Insights on innovation

Building the future of packaging with cutting-edge technologies in Kıvanç Paper PM 1

Discover how Kıvanç Paper decided to take a major strategic leap by entering the board manufacturing industry. At the core of this greenfield mill investment are Valmet’s innovative technologies, many of which have never been seen anywhere in the world before. The board making line delivery included an OCC line, stock preparation and white water treatment, board machine PM 1 from headbox to reel and winder, and services and automation for the entire mill.

Kıvanç Paper PM 1: Building the responsible future of packaging with cutting-edge technologies

Backed by decades of expertise in the textile industry, Kıvanç Paper decided to take a major strategic leap by entering the board manufacturing industry, with the goal of contributing to the local economy and sustainable board production. At the core of this greenfield mill investment are Valmet’s innovative technologies, many of which have never been seen anywhere in the world before.

Innovating for sustainability – Valmet introduces new Bioneer press roll covers with reduced carbon footprint

Valmet is committed to reducing the climate impact of its technologies and supporting customers in achieving their own sustainability goals. As the next step in this long-term effort, Valmet is renewing its press roll cover family with new Bioneer solutions designed to further cut carbon emissions.

Evolution of smart industrial work by supporting people and powering progress

Valmet worked together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, other research partners, and companies in the SEEDForest’s COACH project to create steps towards human-centered, technologically enabled intelligent industrial work of the future.

Beyond Circularity: Advancing hard metal recycling

Valmet is proud to be part of the Caramel project consortium, which aims to develop circular processes and sustainable applications for novel hard metal coatings and structures. This project is a part of Valmet’s Beyond Circularity R&D program and ecosystem.

Beyond Circularity: Innovations in fiber and water analysis technologies

New wood pulp applications bring exciting opportunities, such as raw materials for textiles, films, and liquid packaging.

The next era: growing the tissue family

Valmet has grown over the years, but our core have always been about strong partnerships and shared experiences. Watch episode 5 in our Tissue 50+ series and see how we’re shaping the future as one united tissue family.

The sustainability era: making efficiency count

With innovation at the core of everything we do, we aim to lead by example, not just meeting industry demands, but staying one step ahead of them. Watch episode 4 in our Tissue 50+ video series and see how we made efficiency count.

Discover more about our R&D work

Sustainability

We are committed to accelerating the transformation of industries toward a regenerative tomorrow. Our sustainability strategy has four focus areas: Net-zero and circular aligned solutions, Climate and nature, People and rights, and Responsible value chain.

Beyond Circularity

Beyond Circularity is Valmet’s R&D program and ecosystem to transform waste and emissions into valuable resources for sustainable growth and accelerating the green transition.

Security advisories

At Valmet, we consider the security of our products, systems and services a top priority. Vulnerability management is one essential part of managing and minimizing security risks to our and customers’ business.

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