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From toothpicks to paper electronics

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AMAZING FOREST-BASED INNOVATIONS

Discussion 2: Wood, innovation and the Bioeconomy

Johan Elvnert, Managing Director

The Forest-based Sector Technology Platform

FTP is the European hub for research and innovation in the forest-based bioeconomy

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Forest innovations in everyday products

There’s an ingenious

process behind the

most unassuming

uses of wood!

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1. Wood log is mounted and debarked

2. Unravelling (like rolls of paper)

3. Punching (into individual sticks)

4. Drying and hardening

5. Polishing (final, smooth shape)

6. Sifter (removing damaged picks)

7. Packaging into boxes

1 birch 1.000.000 toothpicks

The Forest-City: Tradition meets Innovation

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✓ Low embodied energy

✓ low weight

✓ high thermal insulation

New wood-based

buildings and cities!

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The best strategy to

immediately fulfil the Paris

COP21 Climate Agreement is to

build with wood!

Enabling theCircular Economy…

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• Electronic waste is challenging to recycle

• This indirectly motivated the Circular Economy strategy

…or making it obsolete?

• Paper electronics is half a century behind the development of silicon

• But paper electronics could be made to be biodegradable

Forests - a resource for human creativity

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A knowledge-based

society, sustained in

every way by growing

European forests

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Vision Targets 2030

“…. Bearing in mind the full range of demand and

production constraints*, harvesting possibilities in

Europe have increased by 30% (until 2030), enabling

forest owners to manage their forests more efficiently

and sustainably.”

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#2

* In many regions specific forest growth is increasing and management is optimised for additional harvesting

possibilities. In other regions, especially in the Mediterranean area, where the impact of climate change is predicted to

be severe, creating resilient, stress-tolerant forest is particularly important. In some landscapes the main aim is nature

conservation and providing ecosystem services.

Vision Targets 2030

“Wood-based construction in Europe has tripled

its market share, from the 2010 level…”

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#8

This equals 1 years’ CO2-emissionsfrom 10.000 EU-citizens

>60% reduction of CO2 emissions if the European Parliament hadbeen built with wood

Translation for policymakers

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Website: www.forestplatform.org

Twitter: @ForestETP

Email: johan.elvnert@forestplatform.orgThe hub for research & innovation

in the EU forest-based bioeconomy