1. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
VTT is a visionary research, development and innovation partner. We drive sustainable growth and tackle the biggest global challenges of our time, and turn them into growth opportunities. We go beyond the obvious to help the society and companies to grow through technological innovations. We have over 75 years of experience of top-level research and science-based results. VTT is at the sweet spot where innovation and business come together.
Tekla Tammelin
Dr. Tekla Tammelin is Research Professor in Biomaterials Engineering at VTT and she holds a title of Docent in Bioproduct Technology at Aalto University. Her research strategy exploits the inherent features of cell-wall systems, and the concepts draw inspiration from plant-based material assemblies and functions. The scientific aim is to bridge the gap between molecular and macroscopic behaviour of complex plant-derived materials which will further provide new aspects on strategies to construct competitive and viable solutions. Concepts include e.g. responsive nanoenhanced membranes, gas/vapour barriers, immobilisation templates for energy producing biomolecules, printed electronics and patterned optical structures..
Heli Kangas
Dr. Heli Kangas is Technology Manager in the Research Area of Biomass Processing and Products at VTT. Her background is in forest products chemistry and she has a long-term relationship with nanocellulose, especially its characterization and environmental, health and safety (EHS) aspects. In her present role she is focusing on valorization of all biomass components and development of advanced bio-based materials and applications thereof.
Marie Gestranius
Marie Gestranius is a PhD student who works as Research Scientist in the Functional Cellulose team at VTT. She has a decade of experience of working with biomaterials, especially nanocellulose, in the search for sustainable solutions in different field of technology. Her main excellence lies within nanocelluose and its behaviour at different interfaces, especially the oil-water interface of emulsions. Her goal is to make the world a little greener, one innovation at the time.
Vinay Kumar
Dr. Vinay Kumar works as a Research Scientist in the Functional Cellulose team at VTT. His background is in forest products technology, and he is developing innovative solutions for improving competitiveness of the forest products industry and sustainability for the world. His aim is to tackle the plastic menace through forest-derived material solutions that perform like conventional petroleum-based plastics, but are designed for recycling and biodegradation, and made from nature’s very own raw materials.
Alexey Khakalo
Dr. Alexey Khakalo is a Research Scientist in the Functional Cellulose team at VTT with background in fiber and paper technology, (nano)composites, cellulose chemistry and interfacial phenomena. Alexey has strong competence in the area of functional lignocellulosic materials development and his research interests are within novel biomaterial-based solutions for various high-end application, including printed electronics, biosensing and energy solutions.
Anastasia Ivanova
Anastasia Ivanova in an industrial designer (MA), a creative mind with passion for developing environmentally friendly biomaterial and product innovations. Her approach to achieving this goal lies in interdisciplinary collaboration and integration of design-driven methods into scientific practises. Anastasia’s professional skills include material research and design, user studies, concept development, strategic and graphic design.
2. Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, WKI
The Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI specializes in process technology, natural-fiber composites, wood protection and emission control, quality assurance of wood products, recycling procedures and the use of organic building materials and wood in construction. Almost all the procedures and materials which result from the research activities at the Institute are used industrially. We operate worldwide and work project-related with research institutions and industrial partners, e. g. with companies from the wood and furniture industries, the construction industry, the chemical and the automotive industry. https://www.wki.fraunhofer.de/en.html
Arne Schirp
Dr. Arne Schirp is Project Leader and Research Scientist in the department Technology of Wood and Natural Fiber-based Materials at Fraunhofer WKI. His background is in wood science and technology. His current projects focus on developing solutions to improve the fire retardancy of thermoplastic bio-based composites with matrices such as PLA and bio-based PA. In addition, he has been working on implementation of wood and natural fibers in 3D-printing (fused deposition modeling). In this project, he will contribute with his expertise in wood materials development and characterization, with a focus on characterizing the reaction-to-fire performance of the developed materials.
Claudia Schirp
Dr. Claudia Schirp is Research Scientist and Deputy Head in the department Surface Technology at Fraunhofer WKI. Her background is in Analytical and Polymer Chemistry. Her current research focus is the synthesis of bio-based resins for waterborne wood coatings and adhesives. She is the coordinator of the FireCellCoat project and will contribute with her expertise in biopolymer synthesis to use microfibrillated nanocellulose during the emulsion polymerization of acrylic resins.
3. NTI (The Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology)
NTI (Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology) is a private research institute with approx. 130 member companies of the Norwegian wood and wood-related industry. As its Research and Development Center, Treteknisk has 70 years of experience in conducting, up-scaling, and implementing research projects that serve the needs of the national industrial forest-based sector. In FireCellCoat, NTI will lead the work on coating application technology, characterization of coatings, performance testing, analysis of moisture dynamics (work package 4) as well as life cycle analysis, environmental product declaration and life cycle costing (work package 5).
Ulrich Hundhausen
Dr. Ulrich Hundhausen’s holds a position as senior research at NTI. His expertise is wood protection with an emphasis on surface and coating technology, covering all aspects from material development, application technology and automatization, performance testing to service life estimation.
Roja Modaresi
Dr. Roja Modaresi holds a PhD in Industrial Ecology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), with a strong background in industrial research projects. She is currently a researcher at the NTI, working with several types of environmental analysis related to the wood industry, developing EPDs, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Material Flow analysis (MFA), Environmental database and process improvements.
4. Teknos Oy
We are a global coatings company. We offer a wide range of paints and coatings for the manufacturing industry, building professionals and consumers. We strive, in every possible way, to help our customers find the ideal solution for their particular purposes. Utilizing thorough research as well as feedback from various market areas, we continuously develop our product range to ensure the best possible customer satisfaction. Combined with our wide knowledge and history of providing industry-leading quality for decades, we are confident in our product range’s ability to solve any coating challenge, in any specific situation.
FireCellCoat 