Paper screw caps from Värmland replace plastic – and soon for giants such as Coca Cola

Blue Ocean Closure’s paper fibre-based corks have quickly progressed from being a vision, to beginning to replace plastic screw caps on the market. Now the company from Värmland is broadening its business to produce simpler products that can be cost-competitive especially at scale and in selected applications. They are backed by several major investors and their customers include some well-known international brands.

A factory in Säffle is producing what appear to be quite ordinary screw caps, but what is happening in this Värmland town is unique in the world. Instead of being made of plastic, the screw caps which can be used on drinks bottles for example, are made of paper fibre. They can be recycled in the paper stream to make new packaging, and they degrades significantly faster than plastic if not captured by recycling systems. This can be compared to plastic screw caps which become litter, only a small proportion of them are recycled, and only into lower-value products.

Blue Ocean Closures are the company behind the corkscrew-caps, and their wheels are really spinning fast now. It is just over two years since the plant opened, a moulding technology developed with the support of BioInnovation, and others is used at the plant. Last year, the Swedish health food company Great Earth was the first to put their product on the shelves, and in 2025 the first screw caps are included in pilot projects with potential future deliveries to major international customers, such as Absolut Vodka, L’Oréal and Coca Cola.

Company CEO Lars Sandberg says their products are currently being trialled by brand owners around the world, and that a further ten international customers were added at the beginning of the year. Those names are not yet public, but it is clear that Japanese packaging manufacturer Nissha joined the investors at around the same time, a group which includes Rottneros and Glatfelter.

– We have a strong foundation for continued growth. We are in the middle of an eventful period where we are developing our technology and our products towards commercialisation, and with a solution that we are totally unique in offering. Our moulded fibre products can compete with plastics and other biodegradable materials, both in terms of cost and sustainability properties, says Lars Sandberg.

The current focus is on replacing plastic caps and lids, both in the dairy segment, which is interesting due to its large volumes, and in the premium packaging segment, where sustainability is increasingly highly valued.

Named one of Sweden’s top tech startups

For two years in a row, Blue Ocean Closures has made Ny Teknik’s 33 list of Sweden’s top tech startups. They are among the first forest-based startups on the list, and the very first from Värmland.

– Getting this acknowledgement from a neutral party is extremely gratifying. It shows that we are on the right track, and that Swedish startups in general are playing an increasingly important role in research and development, says Lars Sandberg.

He describes how Blue Ocean Closures combines two Swedish paradigms when materials from forest-based raw materials are combined with technology from the Swedish metal industry. It all started with a close collaboration at RISE with Thomas Skåre, who has applied his knowledge of metal moulding in the automotive industry to this new context.

Thomas Skåre remembers when Blue Ocean Closures approached him with something similar to cotton:

Taking the concept of metal moulding and applying it to paper fibre presents some challenges.  We can start from the same mindset but these are two materials that behave very differently, and it was in no way a given that we would succeed. We have ventured into uncharted territory, and BioInnovation’s support has been important in providing the finances and the continuity needed to take the decisive first steps.

Several successful BioInnovation projects are behind us

In 2025, Blue Ocean Closures will also begin to replace metal caps. In this case, product development has been supported by BioInnovation, and another project also supported by the programme is investigating possible adaptations of the raw material, which can both improve quality, and reduce costs. That project involves Cellofibers Sweden, which has developed a bio-based material that can replace moulded styrofoam granules made from fossil raw materials, by making similar granules from wood fibre instead. In the project, the wood fibre granules are adapted to the Blue Ocean Closures process.

– The collaboration creates synergies, we benefit from each other’s know-how, and we get the opportunity to explore the material, and how it could be adapted to different processes. We see great opportunities for utilising our material in many areas where fossil-based raw materials currently dominate. Blue Ocean Closures products are one example, and moulded packaging materials and polystyrene for building are two more, says Jan Nordin, Technical Business Developer at Cellofibers Sweden.

‘A fundamental game changer’

Wood fibre granules are a potential raw material in the area of Blue Ocean Closure’s business that will have a major impact on scaling up in the future. It involves replacing simpler plastic products that do not require the same high precision as lids. This includes cutlery, simpler disposable food service packaging, as well as some electronic components.

The material can be cost-competitive, especially at scale and in selected applications, than plastic.

CEO Lars Sandberg again:

– It’s a super interesting area, with an adjustment of our technology we can achieve extremely low costs and this year the first products will already be on the market. We can produce advanced 3D moulded gadgets that have lower material costs than fossil plastics, it’s a fundamental game changer.

Read more about on the project page: Material and product design for recyclable screw caps made of paper fiber.