SteamDry develops and tests superheated steam drying (SSD) technology designed for applications in sheet-format materials such as paper, paperboard, woven and nonwoven fabrics. SSD is expected to drastically reduce energy consumption, achieving 60% savings in the drying process, representing approximately 40% energy savings across the entire production line. Thanks to the concept that the project is testing, the production of CO2-free paper and cardboard could be achieved, as well as an increase in the proportion of energy from renewable sources.

This consortium has partners from Finland, Spain, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy, and is composed of four research institutes and two universities with expertise in piloting, technology scaling, artificial intelligence and modeling. Two leading technology suppliers and five product manufacturers that could be end users of the developed technology are also participating.

Complete list of participants: TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY (FI), AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBH (AT), VDEH-BETRIEBSFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT GMBH (DE), STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH (NL), VALMET TECHNOLOGIES OY (FI), METSA SPRING OY (FI), METSALIITTO OSUUSKUNTA (FI), METSä BOARD CORPORATION (FI), AHLSTROM SPECIALTIES (FR), AHLSTROM OYJ (FI), SAPPI LANAKEN (BE), SOFIDEL SPA (IT), PILLER BLOWERS & COMPRESSORS GMBH (DE), FUNDACION EMPRESA UNIVERSIDAD GALLEGA (ES), UNIVERSITY OF SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (ES), SMURFIT KAPPA PAPER SERVICES BV (NL), UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE (NL).