AFRY has signed a framework agreement with SweTree Technologies to develop a factory for automated and large-scale production of fast-growing and resistant forest plants. The goal is to create a cost-effective factory with a capacity of 20 million plants per year, which strengthens the bioeconomy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

SweTree Technologies, a Swedish biotechnology company specialising in forestry and plant breeding, is developing a factory for efficient and extensive production of fast-growing and resistant forest plants, the first of its kind. With support from forestry companies Stora Enso, Sveaskog, SCA, Södra, and Holmen, SweTree has developed a method for somatic embryogenesis, a technique in vegetative propagation particularly used to optimise growth, resistance, and resource efficiency.

In the project, AFRY is the EPCM partner (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management) and contributes with deep sector expertise in areas such as automation, laboratory, and process equipment. A proven project and execution model enables a scalable solution that takes the current pilot plant to full-scale production. The goal is to sustainably increase forest growth and its resistance to diseases and pests, which has become an increasing challenge driven by ongoing climate change. The aim is to increase biomass production and accelerate the transition from fossil raw materials to renewable ones, which strengthens the growing bioeconomy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

"We look forward to collaborating with AFRY. With our innovative technology and their solid expertise in biotechnology and automation, experience in industrial scaling, and capacity for international projects, we can realise this future-oriented initiative," says Christofer Rhén, CEO of SweTree Technologies.

The first factory is expected to be operational by 2028, with a production capacity of 20 million plants per year. The facility is a concept factory, meaning it is designed to be replicated and implemented at other forestry companies in the future. This is a central part of SweTree's business strategy – to develop a scalable model for producing the best plants, which can be launched globally and thus contribute to more productive forests as well as a sustainable forestry industry.

"We are pleased to support SweTree in this groundbreaking project. By enabling efficient production of high-yield and resistant forest plants, we can strengthen the bioeconomy, reduce dependence on fossil raw materials, and create solutions that contribute to a more sustainable society," says Martin Öman, Head of Division Industrial & Digital Solutions at AFRY.

Reportage om SweTree och den teknikutveckling som nu är på gång inom både SE och skogsgenetik för att säkra skogens framtida tillväxt och produktion av förnyelse- och hållbar råvara.

Dagens industri, bilaga Hållbar skogsindustri, 2025-03-20

SCA has become a partner in the SE-technology and in the pilot plant developed and operated by SweTree Technologies. With SE-technology, more seedlings can be quickly and efficiently produced from the best seed material from forest breeding.

SweTree Technologies is running a pilot project to develop automated seedling production via Somatic Embryogenesis (SE) together with the forest companies Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra and Holmen. SCA has now also entered the project and become a partner in the SE-technology and in the pilot plant developed and operated by SweTree Technologies.

So far, development has focused on spruce seedlings, but with SCA's involvement, SweTree has also started the development of SE-technology for pine. This is done jointly with all participating companies, in parallel with the development that is underway for spruce.

"We are very pleased to have SCA on board with the SE-project. SweTree is now bringing together the five major Swedish forest industry companies in the development of this important and revolutionary technology. This means that we are well equipped to take our SE-technology all the way to a commercial facility for production of SE seedlings on an industrial scale," says Christofer Rhén, CEO of SweTree Technologies.

"We have collaborated 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, and which is at the forefront of research in terms of the production of the best forest seedlings. With an increased degree of breeding, we can produce seedlings that grow even better and thus capture more carbon dioxide. We also get access to more renewable raw materials to replace fossil products with. In this way, our forests can contribute with even greater climate benefit," says Thomas Vestman, Head of SCA's seedling business NorrPlant.

SweTree Technologies has been working for several years to develop the automated SE-technology. SE is a vegetative propagation method, with which seedlings based on the best seed material from forest breeding can be quickly and efficiently produced in large quantities. This technological leap enables commercial seedlings with higher growth and resistance to diseases and pests, which is positive for both the forest economy and the environment.

SCA har gått in som delägare i SE-teknologin och i den pilotanläggning som utvecklats och drivs av SweTree Technologies. Med SE-teknologin kan fler plantor snabbt och effektivt produceras av det bästa frömaterialet från skogsförädling.

SweTree Technologies driver ett pilotprojekt för att utveckla automatiserad plantproduktion via Somatisk Embryogenes (SE) tillsammans med skogsbolagen Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra och Holmen. Nu har även SCA gått in i projektet och blivit delägare i SE-teknologin samt i pilotanläggningen som utvecklats och drivs av SweTree Technologies.

Hittills har utvecklingen fokuserat på granplantor, men i och med SCAs engagemang har SweTree även startat utveckling av SE-teknologi för tall. Detta görs gemensamt med alla deltagande bolag, parallellt med utvecklingen som pågår för gran.

– Vi är mycket glada att få med SCA i SE-projektet. SweTree samlar nu de fem stora svenska skogsindustribolagen i utvecklingen av denna viktiga och revolutionerande teknologi. Detta gör att vi står väl rustade att ta SE-teknologin hela vägen till en kommersiell anläggning för produktion av SE-plantor i industriell skala, säger Christofer Rhén, vd för SweTree Technologies.

– Vi har samarbetat med SweTree en längre tid och nu var det läge att ta nästa steg. Det här är ett spännande utvecklingsprojekt med stor potential och som ligger i framkant av forskningen vad gäller produktion av de bästa skogsplantorna. Med en ökad förädlingsgrad kan vi få fram plantor som växer ännu bättre och därmed fånga upp mer koldioxid. Vi får också tillgång till mer förnyelsebar råvara att ersätta fossila produkter med. På så vis kan våra skogar bidra med ännu större klimatnytta, säger Thomas Vestman, chef för SCAs plantverksamhet NorrPlant.

SweTree Technologies har under flera år arbetat med att utveckla den automatiserade SE-teknologin. SE är en vegetativ förökningsmetod, med vilken plantor baserade på det bästa frömaterialet från skogsförädling, snabbt och effektivt kan produceras i stor mängd. Detta tekniksprång möjliggör kommersiella plantor med högre tillväxt och resistens mot sjukdomar och skadegörare, vilket är positivt för både skogsekonomin och miljön.

SweTrees utveckling av storskalig industriell produktion av SE-plantor fortsätter och nu förbereds för en fullskalig fabrik

SweTree Technologies has entered into a collaboration with Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW) and the forest plant producer LIECO. The new pilot project “SpruceSEA” aims to transfer forest SE seedlings adapted to climate change more quickly to forest companies than traditional breeding approaches.

SweTree's pilot plant for the tree plants of the future will soon be ready for launch. 45% higher growth and root rot resistance in spruce!

Genetics is the key to a productive and healthy forest in the new climate changed environment. Tree plants with improved genetics can rapidly be produced and amplified in large industrial scale by using SweTree´s automated Somatic Embryogenesis (SE) technology. SweTree works closely together with Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) and Skogforsk for development of this area and bring commercial solutions to the market.

SweTree develops trees for the future using biotechnology. SweTree´s newly developed automated Somatic Embryogenesis (SE) technology enables substantially improved tree growth as well as trees with resistance to deceases, pests and fungus.

SweTree´s novel automated Somatic Embryogenesis (SE) technology gives tree plants substantially increased growth.
Together with the forest companies Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra and Holmen, SweTree invest 50 milj SEK in a pilot SE facility. Next phase is a full-scale commercial SE facility of 20 milj tree plants annually.