VOITH PAPER GMBH & CO. KG

Their core work

Voith Paper GmbH & Co. KG is the paper technology division of Voith Group, one of the world's largest manufacturers of paper machines and production systems for pulp, paper, board, and packaging. Their H2020 research activity reflects a strategic push toward bio-based and circular economy solutions: they joined EU consortia to develop advanced cellulose fiber processing methods and, later, recyclable all-cellulose packaging materials with industrial-scale viability. In both projects they contributed process engineering expertise — from deep eutectic solvent-based fiber treatment to pilot-scale wet lamination and surface modification techniques for compostable food packaging. They act as an industrial bridge, translating laboratory cellulose research into manufacturable processes on real papermaking equipment.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project, PROVIDES (2015–2018), explored deep eutectic solvents — green, low-toxicity chemical systems — as a route to upgrading cellulose fibers, suggesting early-stage interest in novel fiber chemistry with no specific end-product focus yet. By CelluWiz (2019–2022) the focus had crystallized into a specific commercial target: recyclable, compostable all-cellulose food packaging (clamshells, cups, trays) produced via wet lamination and the chromatogeny barrier process, with microfibrillated cellulose as a key functional component. The trajectory is a coherent move from upstream fiber chemistry toward downstream packaging applications, driven by circular economy regulation and the food packaging market's demand for plastic-free alternatives.

Voith Paper is positioning its paper process technology portfolio around the plastic-replacement and circular packaging trend, making them a likely partner for future Horizon Europe projects targeting bio-based food contact materials and fiber-based barrier coatings.

How they like to work

Voith Paper participates exclusively as a consortium member — never as project coordinator — which is consistent with a large industrial company that contributes specialized process infrastructure rather than managing research programs. Despite only two projects, they engaged 29 unique partners across 9 countries, indicating involvement in large, multi-stakeholder BBI JU-style consortia where industrial partners are required to demonstrate scale-up feasibility. Anyone building a consortium around cellulose materials or bio-based packaging would approach them as the industrial validator: the partner who confirms whether a lab-scale result can run on a real paper machine.

With 29 unique partners across 9 countries from just two projects, Voith Paper operates within broad European research networks — both projects likely included universities, SMEs, and other industrial players typical of BBI JU consortia. Their geographic spread covers most of the EU research belt without a single dominant country focus.

What sets them apart

Few organizations in EU research consortia can offer what Voith Paper brings: direct access to industrial papermaking infrastructure and a century of wet-process engineering knowledge, combined with active R&D participation in bio-based materials. While academic partners provide cellulose science and SMEs provide niche chemistry, Voith Paper answers the critical question every innovation consortium must address — can this actually be manufactured at scale? For any project targeting fiber-based packaging, barrier coatings, or MFC-enhanced materials that must eventually reach a paper machine, Voith Paper is a uniquely credible route-to-market partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CelluWiz
  Directly targets the high-growth plastic-alternative packaging market with a fully cellulose-based multilayer solution — combining wet lamination, chromatogeny barrier technology, and MFC in a single pilot-scale development, making it Voith Paper's most commercially focused EU project.
• PROVIDES
  An early-stage exploratory project using deep eutectic solvents — a then-emerging green chemistry platform — to upgrade cellulose fibers, showing Voith Paper's willingness to engage with foundational research well upstream of product development.