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Why We’re Here
We believe the future of cellulose should not depend solely on forests.
RIFORMA began from a conviction we share. New technologies do not mature on their own, and a generation entering the field now has both the time horizon and the reason to push them forward. What interests us is the point where environmental progress and cost efficiency stop being a trade-off. Cellulose is one field where that argument can be made concretely. Dissolving pulp is produced almost entirely from wood, while sisal production leaves behind a residue stream that is renewable, regionally concentrated and currently unused. Establishing whether that residue can meet the specification for regenerated fibre is the question RIFORMA was founded to answer.
How We Get There
Build the Technology
We are developing a process route that converts sisal residue into dissolving-grade cellulose. The current focus is establishing that the material reaches the purity, degree of polymerisation and cleanliness required for lyocell and viscose production.
Scale Through Partnerships
We do not intend to build pulp mills. Our model is to develop the process and the feedstock supply, and to work with established pulp and fibre producers that already have the capacity, the customers and the qualification systems in place. That keeps capital requirements low and shortens the path to industrial volume.
Founders
Tim Maurice Steiner
Co-Founder, Technology and Partnerships
Tim studies behavioural science at Duke Kunshan University, working at the interface between behaviour and economics: how business models can be built to serve several stakeholder groups at once, and where environmental progress and cost efficiency reinforce each other rather than compete.
At RIFORMA he leads the technology programme and partner relationships, including the design and scoping of the current proof-of-concept work. He is interested in why promising technologies stall between the laboratory and industry, and in what it takes to close that gap.
Philipp Maurer
Co-Founder, Commercial and Finance
Philipp studies sustainable business administration at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld, part of Trier University of Applied Sciences, with a focus on accounting and finance - in particular green finance as a means of directing capital toward a more resilient economy.
At RIFORMA he is responsible for commercial structure, financing and the development of the sisal supply chain. He is interested in how capital allocation determines which technologies reach industrial scale.
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Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres
Alpha-Cellulose
Agricultural Residue
Feedstock Diversification
Pulp Chemistry
Alternative Fibres
Lyocell
Pulp Chemistry
Dissolving Pulp
Alternative Fibres
Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres
Agricultural Residue
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Building the circular cellulose supply chains of tomorrow.
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