Swedish company Adsorbi raises €1M investment from Metsä Spring

Adsorbi, a Chalmers University of Technology research spinout, has secured a €1 million investment from Chalmers Ventures, Jovitech Invest, as well as Finish VC Metsä Spring. The funds will be used to build and run a pilot plant in Gothenburg, create new goods, and expand its client base. Adsorbi shared the announcement with AIN.

About Adsorbi

In October 2024, the EU approved a new Ambient Air Quality Directive with stricter air quality standards to be achieved by 2030, pushing businesses to find new air filtering solutions.
Adsorbi, founded in 2022 by Hanna Johansson and Kinga Grenda, develops a high-performing material, derived from Nordic tree cellulose, which captures key pollutants like nitrogen oxides, acids, and aldehydes, and can be used in air filters, odour-removing products, and museums.

Absorbi team photo Image: Absorbi team

Compared to the current market standard (activated carbon), Adsorbi's material lasts longer, doesn't release VOCs, is water and fire-resistant, changes color when it needs replacing, and generates around 50% lower CO2 emissions.

“We’re grateful to our investors for their continued support. With the funding we will establish pilot production, a crucial step for scaling Adsorbi. Air pollutant control is needed in many markets, and we’re ready to offer a commercial solution that ensures the air we breathe is clean without extensive use of fossil-based materials,” says Hanna Johansson, CEO of Adsorbi.

Investment details

The round was led by Finnish VC firm Metsä Spring, as well as Swedish investment firms Chalmers Ventures and Jovitech Invest. The round also accounts for a grant from Sweden's Innovation Agency for their cellulose-based air purifier.

Metsä Spring is the venture capital arm of Metsä Group, which invests globally in promising startups that have a link to wood or forestry. The fund’s recent investments include Fiberwood, Montinutra, and its previous investment in Absorbi, during its €360,000 in 2023.
In September 2024, Adsorbi won the national final for the SEB Next Awards in the New Ideas category. Adsorbi also announced a cooperation with Icebug, a global leader in grip footwear, and Smellwell to produce a new generation of commercial shoe deodoriser inserts, which will be available on Icebug's web shop and in select stores.

“We joined Adsorbi’s journey 1.5 years ago. The company has achieved all the goals agreed upon at the time and even surprised us investors positively in a few areas. The plan for the company's next phase was very logical, and we are excited to support its implementation. Their development of a pulp-based new product makes them particularly relevant to Metsä Group’s mission. With Adsorbi in our portfolio, we move closer to replacing fossil-based materials in everyday applications," says Niklas von Weymarn, CEO of Metsä Spring.

The fresh funding will be used to build a pilot plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, and grow Adsorbi’s customer base for its low-emission cellulose-based material that can be used wherever air pollutants are a problem – in air filters, products that remove bad odours, and museums to protect works of art.