The largest forestry company JSC Latvijas valsts meži (LVM) wants to obtain 10 viable product solutions with high readiness for their implementation in the next eight months.
The work begins SilvaTech acceleration (includes product or technology development, improvement, evaluation for market needs, prototyping, validation) program, which LVM implements together with Startup Wise Guys an accelerator program jointly developed by the accelerator.
The program will help the company’s internal and external innovation teams to develop technologies, products, solutions in forestry, forestry, seed and plant growing, extraction and production of mineral materials, forest inventory, recreation, as well as in the field of geospatial information technologies. ” Latvian state forests Development Department Manager Ilga Bērzkalna.
She points out that the company wants to see high-readiness – tested, tested, viable – solutions for innovations from the acceleration program already in 2022, which would allow to become more efficient or create new income streams. “Although LVM has determined that at least 5% of employees must participate in acceleration programs, it will not be enough on their own, so not only LVM employees, but also new companies and technology companies, scientists and academics not only from Latvia, but also from abroad will work in this project. , ”Points out I. Bērzkalns.
She emphasizes that only everyone together – the company’s employees, scientists, technology and IT software developers – can create solutions that do not currently exist and that can change not only forestry, but also significantly accelerate results and become more efficient.
LVM is already a digital company today, using drones and geospatial information and remote sensing solutions, and mobile applications in daily work. However, the SilvaTech acceleration program is intended to strengthen existing areas, as well as to take significant steps in the areas of machine learning and machine vision, robotics and sensors, logistics technology and others.
Robots – ravētājs
Although we work very hard abroad for robots – weeders, which are necessary in agriculture, there are still no such ones for forestry, therefore one of LVM’s objects of interest is to create a robot – weeder for forest tree seedlings.
“When planting tree seedlings in a clearing, they are suppressed relatively quickly by herbaceous plants and specimens of faster-growing tree species, therefore young plants need care so that the seedlings do not wither, and a robot – weeder would be a great helper,” says I. Bērzkalna. She points out that such a robot would also be needed in the structure of LVM Seeds and Seedlings, as beds with 60 million tree seedlings have to be uprooted every year.
Another area where technology could significantly improve employee performance is forest monitoring and inventory. “LVM manages almost 25% of the entire territory of Latvia, and the task of many employees is to assess the real situation in the forest, which requires a great deal of time and financial expenses,” emphasizes I. Bērzkalna.
Increasing changes in climatic conditions are placing an additional burden on surveys of changes in stands caused by wind gases and fires. She recalls that the biggest costs are for timber transport, especially fuel. “If we drive less per kilometer every year, then the company will save about 300,000 euros a year. This is a significant amount that reduces costs, ”says I. Bērzkalna.
She reminds that in forests, inspecting ditches with drones saves not only the workforce, but also time 3: 1. Currently, LVM’s more than 70 drones, operated by more than 100 certified LVM drone pilots, are essentially a kind of eye from the sky that sees the scene on the ground (in the forest), but they cannot analyze and conclude how many trees have grown in this forest. trees grow in a particular place. “That is why we look with great interest at machine vision, machine learning, remote sensing technologies, sensory and robotics,” says I. Bērzkalna.
She believes that this is not a distant future, but a short-term perspective. “Of course, we can take over foreign experience and solutions, applying and adapting them to Latvian conditions,” I. Bērzkalns answers the question whether the transfer of knowledge and technological solutions from the Scandinavian countries, where forestry is developed, is possible. She points out that LVM is also working on topics that do not yet exist abroad, and the successful implementation of the SilvaTech acceleration program can lead to a product or service that would also be commercially interesting for foresters in other countries.
“LVM offers data on forest and related infrastructure to potential cooperation partners in order to jointly create or test a development that would be interesting also for entrepreneurs from other spheres and countries,” says I. Bērzkalna.
Attracts biomass
Another area in which the SilvaTech acceleration program will operate is new products from biomass and mineral materials. “Biomass is generated both through the care of young stands and logging, and it is currently used as an energy resource for heat and energy production, but there are opportunities to produce other products from it – raw materials for the creation of goods,” explains I. Bērzkalna.
She points to research by scientists on the use of biomass in food, the production of fibers, which can then be used in clothing. “LVM is working with scientists from the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry and Riga Technical University in new directions of using biomass,” said I. Bērzkalna. She hopes that the acceleration program could reveal some new, potential solutions and directions for the use of biomass, the products of which would be worth evaluating both from their potential market capacity and the investments required for their development and production.
“Outside the SilvaTech acceleration program, LVM is currently working on a business plan for the production of wood fiber pulp. It could be a raw material for the production of various other products, and about 100 new jobs could be created in Latvia, ”I. Bērzkalna answers the question about biomass use solutions. She points out that it is currently not possible to answer in more detail about the potential of this idea, as work on technical solutions and, consequently, the development of a business plan is continuing.
“The second direction is the production of furfural, for which LVM together with the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry conducts research, which also plans technology research and testing, and then it will be possible to think about further steps,” explains I. Bērzkalna. It should be noted that ideas and plans for the production of furfural in Latvia also existed several decades ago, however, technology and demand have undergone significant changes during this time. “Time will tell how these biomass solutions will evolve, as they will be the subject of a report – economic rationale, technology assessments, market research – to the company’s board, then to the board, which will have to answer questions about the amount of investment required and what is their source – EU co-financing, a private partner or the company itself, but perhaps also all three possible sources of financing together, ”I. Bērzkalna answers the question about the possibilities of implementing new biomass product solutions and LVM’s participation in it.
Although she hurries to add that LVM’s current employees do not have the knowledge that would be needed to implement one of the new biomass product solutions, but this can be compensated by attracting relevant partners or by growing their own knowledge and hiring relevant specialists.
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