UPM signs lignin supply deal with US Domtar

The Finnish forest industry company UPM and the US-based pulp and paper producer Domtar Paper Company LLC have signed an agreement for UPM to acquire the total annual kraft lignin production of Domtar’s Plymouth Mill in North Carolina as of January 2021, said UPM in a press release on Wednesday.

Following the agreement, UPM will increase its supply of kraft lignin by more than 20.000 metric tonnes annually. Part of the supply will be used to complement the existing UPM BioPiva^TM product family.

UPM lignin products will be sold globally through UPM’s sales network and are supported by strong technical expertise.

“We are very pleased to have agreed this new supply agreement with Domtar. It enables us to expand our lignin business in the growing biochemicals market before the start-up of our Biorefinery in Leuna, Germany,” said, UPM Biochemicals Vice President Juuso Konttinen.

“Domtar is excited to partner with UPM to provide sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products,” said Domtar’s Vice President of strategy and business analysis Steve Henry.

Kraft lignin products, such as UPM BioPiva^TM are used as a renewable alternative to fossil-based products in a growing range of applications, such as lignin-based phenolic resins.