Kriz
Foam rubber, the ubiquitous stuffing inside our beloved couches, carries a hefty environmental cost, contributing significantly to CO2 emissions. In an innovative stride towards sustainability, a Norwegian company named Agoprene envisions a future where seaweed holds the key to eco-friendly furniture.
Back in 1919, Nils Halvorsen Norheim revolutionized Norway's culinary landscape by establishing the nation's inaugural automated flatbread factory near Barkåker. Fast forward a century, and Norheim's great-great-granddaughter, Celine Sandberg, finds herself gazing into an oven in a compact kitchen in Trondheim. However, instead of producing food, Sandberg is pioneering the creation of foam.
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| Agoprene - Green' Future of Furniture. Image credits: Tuala Hjarno |
Sandberg, the visionary founder and CEO of Agoprene, is at the forefront of crafting sustainable furniture foam. The company asserts that polyurethane foam rubber, derived from petrochemicals and widely employed in sofas, chairs, and various soft furnishings, generates a staggering 105 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. "In the furniture industry, everyone acknowledges that foam is detrimental to the environment, yet alternatives are scarce," Sandberg emphasizes. "I am determined to offer a more sustainable choice, devoid of petrochemicals."
Despite lacking an engineering background, Sandberg, armed with a foundation in business development and finance, stumbled upon this intricate realm of material technology during her master's studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s School of Entrepreneurship. "For my degree, I had to establish my own company and needed guidance. So, I began knocking on professors' doors, inquiring about their projects," she recounts. "I discovered that petroleum is essentially a product of degraded biomass, implying that biomass could theoretically replace it."
This revelation ignited Sandberg's months-long exploration into the potential of biomass and the broader domain of biotechnology. "Then, the Covid-19 lockdown hit, compelling me to source biomass locally from Norway, as I couldn't access suppliers elsewhere in Europe," she reflects. In the country boasting the world's second-longest coastline, she unearthed a bountiful resource: seaweed.
Teaming up with Agoprene's research chemist, Asanga De Alwis, Sandberg commenced a series of experiments in her petite Trondheim kitchen. They meticulously combined various types of seaweed-based materials, poured the resulting mixture into molds, and subjected it to a 50-degree Celsius heat—an endeavor likened to the precision of baking a cake. Unlike conventional baking, however, the foam bakes for approximately 10 hours, contingent on the material's thickness. "We encountered numerous setbacks. We must have crafted around 800 foam samples," she recounts.
Bootstrapping became an essential part of the process. Armed with a relatively modest budget of 1 million Norwegian kroner from the Research Council of Norway, Sandberg scoured for second-hand equipment and contacted suppliers, seeking complimentary biomass samples. "I went without a salary for eight months, moved back in with my parents, and even relied on them to cover my phone bill, given my financial constraints," she discloses. "Yet, I remained steadfast in my belief that one day, the tides would turn in our favor."
In 2023, Agoprene earned a coveted spot in the BioInnovation Institute’s Venture Lab acceleration program. This initiative granted Sandberg the resources to pilot the production of 500 foam pillows, and to assess the scalability of her current methods. "Ironically, we're utilizing a production facility located near where my great-great-grandfather's factory once stood," she notes. With favorable outcomes, she anticipates a market debut towards the end of 2023.
"While our current focus centers on furniture foam, we are open to exploring new applications," Sandberg shares. Agoprene has already fielded inquiries from a ski manufacturer, a soundproofing company, and even a shoemaker—all keen on sustainable foam solutions.
Despite the burgeoning demand, projected to reach $118.9 billion by 2026, Sandberg doesn't harbor aspirations of global dominance. Instead, she envisions a landscape teeming with startups dedicated to developing sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals. "In Scandinavia, there's a dearth of individuals working with bio-based materials due to the inherent challenges. I hope Agoprene can foster a sense of community, inspiring others to collaborate in addressing this issue," she expresses. "I want more people to embark on the journey we've undertaken."
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2023 edition of WIRED UK.
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