SCA is committed to SweTree Technologies' pilot facility for SE plants
- News
- Forest
- För skogsägare
SCA has become a co-owner of SE technology and the pilot facility developed and operated by SweTree Technologies. With SE technology, it is possible to quickly and efficiently produce more plants from the best seed material from forest breeding.
SweTree Technologies is running a pilot project to develop automated plant production via Somatic Embryogenesis (SE) in collaboration with forestry companies Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra, and Holmen. Now, SCA has also joined the project as an SE company and become a co-owner of SE technology and the pilot facility developed and operated by SweTree Technologies.
So far, the development has focused on spruce plants, but with SCA's involvement, SweTree has also started the development of SE technology for pine. This is being done jointly with all participating companies, parallel to the ongoing development for spruce.
“We are very pleased to have SCA join the SE project. SweTree now brings together all five major Swedish forestry companies in the development of this important and revolutionary technology. This positions us well to take SE technology all the way to a commercial facility for the production of SE plants on an industrial scale,” says Christofer Rhén, CEO of SweTree Technologies.
Exciting development project
“We have cooperated with SweTree for a long time, and now it was time to take the next step. This is an exciting development project with great potential that is at the forefront of research on producing the best forest plants. With increased breeding levels, we can produce plants that grow even better and can thus capture more carbon dioxide. We also gain access to more renewable raw materials that can replace fossil products. In this way, our forests can contribute even more to climate benefits,” says Thomas Vestman, head of SCA's plant operations NorrPlant.
SweTree Technologies has been working for several years to develop the automated SE technology. With this technological leap, it is possible to quickly and efficiently produce more plants from the best seed material from forest breeding, resulting in plants with both higher growth and resistance to diseases and pests. This is positive for both forest economy and the environment.