SweTree Technologies is a biotechnology innovation and development company that develops future trees. It does this by developing and providing biological technologies and products designed to improve the productivity and performance of trees and wood properties for forestry, fiber, and biomass-related industries.
In 2019, construction began on the pilot plant in Umeå to develop automated production of SE seedlings. Through the use of SOEs (Somatic Embryogenesis), a single seed can give rise to several embryos that are then grown into new plants. In 2025, the pilot project aims to decide on and begin construction of a large-scale, industrial plant production facility.
SweTree currently produces about 100,000 seedlings per year at the pilot plant in Umeå – the planned factory will produce 20 million seedlings annually.
“We have been developing this for a long time, and the scale on which we do it is unique in the world. We are in an exciting phase as we are now at the end of the pilot and have started with factory preparations. Therefore, we are now looking for a senior researcher in SE and a lab/research engineer to join our team, says Christofer Rhén.
SweTree is leading the collaborative project with forest companies Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra, and Holmen. The plan is for the companies to co-own the first factory and jointly decide its location.
“The factory will serve the whole of Sweden, so it’s a matter of finding a logistically smart location”, says Christofer.
The current project concerns spruce seedlings. SweTree, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Umeå, will continue to develop the process for other tree species, both in the Nordic region and globally.
“We want to build on the foundation we have today and aim to commercialize this globally. While in contact with the global forest industry, we are prioritizing the establishment of a large and impressive reference facility in Sweden”, concludes Christofer Rhén.
