RAIZ - INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACAO DAFLORESTA E PAPEL

Their core work

RAIZ is the private R&D institute of the Portuguese pulp and paper industry, conducting applied research across the entire forest-to-product value chain. Their work spans sustainable forestry management, pulp mill process optimization, waste valorization from paper production, and conversion of pulp industry byproducts (such as black liquor) into advanced biofuels. Based in Aveiro — Portugal's pulp and paper heartland — they bridge industrial paper production with circular economy and biorefinery concepts, turning mill residues into higher-value products.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

RAIZ's early H2020 involvement (2017-2018) centered on core pulp and paper operations — waste management through circular economy, satellite-based forestry monitoring, and enzymatic processing of wood materials. Their most recent project (BL2F, starting 2020) marks a clear shift toward energy applications, specifically converting the pulp mill byproduct black liquor into drop-in biofuels for aviation and shipping via hydrothermal liquefaction. This evolution shows a progression from optimizing traditional pulp mill operations toward positioning the paper industry as a feedstock source for the transport energy transition.

RAIZ is moving from traditional paper industry R&D toward biorefinery and advanced biofuel production, positioning pulp mills as multi-product biorefineries — a direction highly relevant for decarbonizing aviation and maritime transport.

How they like to work

RAIZ operates exclusively as a supporting partner, never leading consortia — half their projects are as a third party (likely contributing specific pulp mill expertise or access to industrial facilities) and half as a regular participant. With 48 unique partners across just 4 projects, they consistently join large, multi-partner consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern suggests they are valued for their specialized industrial knowledge and pilot-scale infrastructure rather than for project management capacity.

Despite only 4 projects, RAIZ has built connections with 48 unique partners across 13 countries, indicating participation in large European consortia. Their network spans broadly across Europe rather than clustering around any single geographic region.

What sets them apart

RAIZ occupies a rare niche as an industry-owned research institute embedded in the pulp and paper sector, providing direct access to real industrial processes, mill-scale data, and byproduct streams like black liquor. For consortium builders, this means a partner who can validate laboratory concepts against actual pulp mill conditions — something university labs cannot easily offer. Their pivot toward biofuels from paper industry residues makes them particularly attractive for projects seeking industrial demonstration sites in the bioeconomy space.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BL2F
  Represents RAIZ's strategic pivot — converting black liquor into aviation and shipping biofuels via hydrothermal liquefaction, connecting pulp industry with transport decarbonization.
• WoodZymes
  Largest direct EC funding to RAIZ (EUR 281,325), exploring industrial biotechnology to convert wood-based materials into construction products — a high-value diversification from paper.