Proven technology in a new application, with the potential to transform an entire industry - the start-up company MicroDri has something unique. Drying wood with microwaves instead of hot air opens up entirely new opportunities for the forestry industry.
Today, wood drying is a time- and energy-consuming activity, where hot air is blown into a closed room for four or five days where thousands of boards are dried under exactly the same conditions. MicroDri is developing a new type of dryer that uses precision-controlled microwaves to dry each board based on its unique properties.
The benefits are many and reach far beyond the individual board, but we can start there.
Because each piece of wood is unique, they react differently to drying. In a traditional lumber dryer, this results in a certain percentage of warped, cracked and damaged boards - the ones that are ultimately rejected by hobbyists on a May morning at the lumberyard. By reading and adjusting the microwave drying individually, MicroDri can minimize this damage.
- Should we have more energy, less energy - is it meatballs or fries we have in the microwave right now? explains Victor Borén, CEO of MicroDri, with a twinkle in his eye.
This optimizes the use of each tree, reduces waste throughout the process and increases resource utilization. Another advantage is that it is much faster, 1-2 hours instead of 4-5 days in the traditional way. In addition, the forest industry can reduce the need to store large quantities of boards and work more on a just-in-time philosophy, quickly adapting production to demand. In addition, the industry can reduce its emissions.
- Today, wood chips and bark are burned for heat for the drying process. Although this is a renewable raw material, many are now looking at how they can completely eliminate their emissions in production. One way is to electrify the drying process," says Victor Borén.
MicroDri was started in 2019 in Linköping, and comes from a project aimed at finding new applications for the microwave expertise available within the Saab Group. The company, which is backed by Saab Combitech, has in 2022 and 2023 participated in the Forest Business Accelerator, a business development program from the innovation actor BizMaker in Västernorrland together with the partner companies SCA, Rise Processum and IBM.
MicroDri has worked closely with SCA and Holmen in particular to verify its technology and take a step closer to the market.
- The link to the forest industry is strong in the Forest Business Accelerator and we have made good contacts. The partnership between established companies and startups is very good, where we as a startup can make new contacts and gain new customer perspectives.
Victor Borén, CEO of MicroDri
There is now a prototype dryer that is being hard tested, and the next step will be to start a pilot plant to fine-tune the technology and evaluate it in a larger context, at a sawmill. In the vision, MicroDri becomes part of a future forestry, where the traditional processes have been replaced by new innovative technology that has opened up for digitization all the way from the forest to the end product.
- In the future, we have drone harvesters that select the right trees for the customer's needs, bring them to the sawmill where they are cut into optimal pieces. Based on each piece and its intended use, we dry it in the right way and deliver it just in time, with the right properties. You get perfect timber for construction, which is also traceable all the way back to the forest," concludes Victor Borén.
CONTACT
Victor Borén, MicroDri
victor@microdri.se, 076-809 03 64
