LignoSphere secures €1.2 million as US materials investor joins round
LignoSphere, an Aalto University spin-off based in Espoo, Finland, has extended its pre-seed funding round with an investment from TekVentures, the corporate venture capital arm of global leader in polymer material science solutions Teknor Apex.
The Finnish biomaterials company has also secured research and development funding from Business Finland. Together with previous investment, the external funding awarded to LignoSphere during 2026 amounts to more than €1.2 million. The funding will allow LignoSphere to bring its products up to the performance level required of commercial concrete and steel coatings, and to deepen its work with partners and customers.
A versatile biomaterial
Kraft lignin is generated as a side stream in pulp production, but its complex chemical composition has long prevented its widespread use as a replacement for fossil-based raw materials. Today, most lignin is burned for energy at pulp mills. LignoSphere's technology unlocks the value of this abundant side stream by converting it into colloidal lignin particles, whose spherical shape makes the material uniform and easy to disperse into industrial formulations. This allows lignin to replace synthetic phenolic compounds in adhesives and coatings, among other applications.
Pre-seed funding round
In early 2026, LignoSphere announced investments from Kiilto Ventures and Stephen Industries. The TekVentures investment brings to LignoSphere expertise and new networks alongside capital.
"Teknor Apex has spent a hundred years doing exactly what we are moving towards: manufacturing materials at industrial scale and delivering them to demanding customers. That experience is worth as much to us as the money. It also gives us a vantage point on the US market," says Eero Knuutila, CEO of LignoSphere.
Teknor Apex is a family-owned materials science company with more than a century of experience developing specialized polymer solutions. Through TekVentures, the company backs and builds long-term relationships with the founders shaping the next generation of materials and manufacturing—bio-based raw materials among the key focus areas.
“The promise of lignin is easy to see: it is renewable, abundant and already produced at industrial scale. The hard part has always been turning it into something industry can use consistently. LignoSphere is bringing that promise closer to industrial reality. It is exactly the kind of opportunity we look for at TekVentures: strong science, a real path to scale and the potential to reduce fossil-based inputs without compromising performance,” said Abhijit Ganguly, Managing Director of TekVentures.
Business Finland is funding the project through a product development loan. The funding covers the research, development and piloting phase, which runs until June 2027. During this phase, LignoSphere will validate the performance of its products through standardised testing, expand its customer pilots and design its first production facility. The goal is to reach the level of technological maturity and customer commitment at which an investment decision on a demonstration plant can be made.
Concrete samples coated with LignoSpheres
About
LignoSphere Company Oy is a biomaterials company based in Espoo, Finland, which converts kraft lignin, a side stream of pulp production, into colloidal lignin particles. These can replace synthetic phenolic compounds and fossil-based raw materials in coatings and adhesives, among other applications. Founded in 2022, the company's technology originates from research at Aalto University and Häme University of Applied Sciences and is protected by seven patents, among other measures.www.lignosphere.fi
TekVentures is the corporate venture and innovation arm of Teknor Apex Company. Established in 2023, it invests in founders rethinking the discovery, sourcing, manufacturing and reuse of materials that move society forward sustainably. TekVentures draws on the perspective of a global materials manufacturer as it invests in and supports early-stage companies navigating the realities of building and scaling industrial technologies.
Further information:
Eero Knuutila, CEO
+358 40 839 3899
