Kyiv-based manufacturer of sustainable paper products made by fallen leaves Releaf Paper has received €2.5 million as a champion of EIC’s accelerator program. This funding will go to delivering a €3.5 million initial phase of a new pilot production line in Lutsk, tech.eu reports.

• Founded in 2019 by Valentyn Frechka and Oleksandr Sobolenko Releaf Paper develops new generation technology of fallen leaves processing into sustainable paper products without the use of chemicals and reduced CO2 emissions by 78%.
• Releaf’s goal is to replace using wood cellulose with leave’s fiber to the greatest extent of paper mills across the world. The startup claims forest conservation will save 17 trees from being cut down with every tonne of leaf-derived paper it produces.
• The fresh grant was provided by the EIC Accelerator, one of the most competitive funding programs at the European level. The money will go to delivering a €3.5 million initial phase of a new pilot production line, in Lutsk, Ukraine, using Releaf’s concept to make paper from fallen leaves. Releaf Paper expects the funding to last two years, with the first tranche to arrive in April 2023.
• The EU has also left the door open to increasing its contribution, through its European Investment Fund. With the help of the fund, Releaf could increase its supply of EU capital to above €10 million.

“We are closer than ever to the goal of starting a series of our own production line of the new generation, where the paper of the future, Releaf paper, will be created. When at the end of this year everyone is talking about reducing carbon footprint, deforestation and stopping environmental catastrophe, we are taking real steps to revolutionize the paper industry!” Valentyn Frechka, founder of Refeal Paper said.

Releaf Paper expects the funding to last two years, with the first tranche to arrive in April 2023. With the help of the fund, Releaf plans to increase its supply of EU capital to above €10 million. The EIF has said it would provide additional investments to scale the project, potentially leading to two more production lines by 2027-end, and in two separate target markets.

Recently, the European Commission adopted the 2023 work program of the European Innovation Council, which will grant €1.6 billion in funding to innovators who can to scale up and create new markets.

Source: www.ain.ua