Papermaking for Life: "The potential to shape tomorrow's world through innovation is a great motivation for me."

As part of its "Papermaking for Life" initiative, Voith is committed to providing the paper industry with the most sustainable technologies. And this is exactly what Felix Rosnau works on every day as Innovation Manager for Foresight. In this interview, Felix shares insights into Voith's systematic approach to researching sustainability in papermaking and discusses his personal motivation behind this important work.

Felix, as Innovation Manager for Foresight, how do you identify and explore emerging business and development areas, and what role does sustainability play in the selection process?

Our approach to identifying and exploring emerging businesses and development areas involves a well-established Foresight Management Process. This process is based on five key pillars:

• Trend analysis: Our goal is to gain insight into the business environment by analyzing current and future trends.
• Technology Foresight: We focus on identifying emerging technologies and their potential impact on our industry.
• Customer Foresight: Our goal is to anticipate future customer needs and preferences to stay ahead of the market.
• Consumer Foresight: We analyze consumer behavior and market development trends to understand evolving needs.
• Breakthrough Technologies: We pay special attention to radical changes in technologies that could disrupt the industry.

To support our foresight activities, we use scenario techniques and modeling to envision alternative futures and their implications.

When it comes to sustainability, we view it as a megatrend that permeates the entire value chain. Rather than treating sustainability as a separate selection criterion, we integrate it into our overall approach. For example, we are currently investigating how the packaging market may evolve and are conducting interviews with companies throughout the value chain. Throughout these discussions, we have observed a strong interest in sustainability. At Voith, sustainability goals and roadmaps are being implemented across our operations. We firmly believe that the future of packaging lies in paper, as it offers more sustainable alternatives. As a result, we are actively exploring opportunities to contribute to the development of sustainable packaging solutions.

In your role, how do you prioritize and assess the potential of sustainability-driven projects or technologies?

At Voith Paper, our "Papermaking for Life" program sets ambitious goals, including enabling 100% CO2-neutral paper production by 2030 through energy-optimized products, digital solutions and renewable energy. We also aim to implement breakthrough technologies for a new papermaking process with 90% fresh water savings and to establish new recycled fiber streams to achieve a 90% recycling rate.

In our New Business & Research department, we focus on the early stages of product development, starting with idea generation and evaluation. While the impact of decarbonization can be measured in terms of specific energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the potential of a new technology depends on the individual mill or paper machine. That's why we work closely with our customers to assess the potential of new technologies. As projects progress, we continually refine our assessments and determine the benefits of these technologies over the life of the project.

What personally motivates you to work in the field of innovation, especially as it relates to sustainable development?

The potential to shape the world we will live in tomorrow through innovation is a major motivation for me. Scientificevidence highlights the urgent need for our society and industries to embrace sustainability to mitigate global warming and respect global boundaries. The opportunity to contribute to a more sustainable future within our industry is highly motivating, and Voith Paper's track record demonstrates our ability to make a significant positive impact with our products and services.

As I walk from my office to the train station, I often pause to observe the heavy trucks loaded with products from one of our Group Divisions, ready for transport to customers. Knowing that we are actively working on sustainable technologies to make the world more sustainable makes me proud to be part of Voith.

How do you stay inspired and on top of the latest trends and developments?

In addition to research, I find that personal interaction is an important source of inspiration. This includes workshops with our customers to better understand their needs and ideas or attending conferences and exhibitions.

I also draw inspiration from my colleagues at Voith Paper and benefit from their expertise and insights. Collaborative exchanges and workshops with colleagues from other companies are invaluable in understanding emerging industry trends and topics that are gaining momentum.

Last but not least, my incredible team colleagues play a vital role in keeping me inspired. Working together, we constantly challenge and enrich each other's ideas, fostering a dynamic and innovative environment.

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