UPM has inaugurated its biorefinery at Leuna, Germany, an investment of EUR 1.37bn (USD 1.54bn) with annual production capacity of 220,000 tonnes. The plant uses enzymatic hydrolysis to turn beechwood thinnings and sawmill residues sourced within about 200km into industrial sugars and lignin, feedstock for chemicals used in packaging, clothing, cosmetics, construction materials and tyres. Hydrolysis and lignin-based speciality chemicals have reached stable operation, and UPM is raising sales as the wider ramp-up continues.
Why this mattersA 220,000-tonne wood-to-chemicals plant gives packaging and other manufacturers fossil-free sugar and lignin feedstock at industrial scale, drawn from regional beechwood thinnings and sawmill residues.
- Investment of EUR 1.37bn (USD 1.54bn) at the Leuna site in Germany
- Annual production capacity of 220,000 tonnes of wood-based biochemicals
- Feedstock is beechwood forest thinnings and sawmill residues sourced within about 200km
- Enzymatic hydrolysis and lignin-derived specialty chemical production have reached stable operation
- Output can replace fossil-based inputs in packaging, clothing, cosmetics, construction and tyres
- UPM also runs a biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland
- UPM states all processes at the Leuna biorefinery have reached stable operation as of 20 October 2026
Siegwerk and Enplater Group have been given the Labels & Labeling Sustainability Award for a jointly developed recycle-ready mono-material polypropylene pouch for food packaging. The structure combines Siegwerk's high-barrier ink and coating technology with Enplater's converting expertise to replace multi-material laminates while remaining compatible with existing polyolefin recycling streams. The award was presented at LOUPE Americas 2026 in Chicago.
Why this mattersMono-material barrier pouches let converters meet design-for-recycling rules without giving up shelf-life performance, pressuring incumbent multi-layer flexible structures.
- The pouch uses Siegwerk's CIRKIT OXYBAR WHITE, an inline oxygen-barrier and white ink technology.
- The structure is a mono-material polypropylene design intended for existing polyolefin recycling streams.
- The award was presented at LOUPE Americas 2026 in Chicago.
- Siegwerk and Enplater Group jointly developed the pouch through their R&D and technical teams.
- The pouch is designed for food packaging applications.
Ink maker Siegwerk, Finnish research group TAMK and partners including coffee company Meira and German converter Hornung Verpackungen have printed paper shopping bags using a water-based ink formulated with colorants derived from coffee-roasting side streams. The August 2026 print run followed two years of research and a 2025 flexographic trial, and is described as a step towards commercial adoption of the technology.
Why this mattersA working bio-based colorant supply chain could reduce packaging printers' reliance on fossil-based pigments, a small but replicable circularity model for other food-industry side streams.
- Paper bags were printed in August 2026 using a water-based ink with colorants from coffee-production side streams supplied by Meira Oy.
- Natural Indigo Finland's BioInk technology was used by Siegwerk to formulate the colorants into industrial printing inks.
- The project began two years before the August 2026 trial, with a first flexographic print on fibre-based shopping bags in 2025.
- The 2025 coffee-ink packaging won the public vote at New Wood 2025 and the Sustainable Innovations Competition at PacTec in Helsinki.
- The ink uses Siegwerk's high bio-renewable content technical varnish as binder and generates no VOC emissions.
- Partners include Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), Natural Indigo Finland, BioInk, Meira and Hornung Verpackungen.
