Paper with Purpose: Modernizing the Pulp and Paper Industry
The pulp and paper industry, although fundamental to daily life, is one of the world’s most energy- and water-intensive industries. By providing technologies for the paper making process, ABB keeps the industry running at peak performance, reducing operational costs, energy consumption, emissions, chemical and water usage.
Web Story
4min
2026-05-28
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<p>The global pulp and paper market size, valued at $351.7 billion in 2025, is projected to grow to $416.56 billion by 2035.<sup>1</sup></p>02
<p>The industry also generates 6 percent of global industrial energy use and 2 percent of industrial CO<sub>2</sub> emissions across its lifecycle.<sup>2</sup></p>03
<p>ABB's advanced automation and digitalization technologies play a vital role in helping these mills to outrun leaner and cleaner.</p>Turning the page on the pulp and paper industry
The pulp and paper industry (PPI) is fundamental to daily life, producing paper and cardboard for everything from tissues to coffee filters to packaging. It produces more than 400 million tons (Mt) of paper per year – a figure expected to reach 900 Mt by 2050.3 However, it is also one of the world’s most resource-intensive industries, consuming substantial amounts of energy and water. The PPI was responsible for 2 percent of all direct industrial emissions in 2022.4 As a potential driver of sustainable forest management and recycling, the sector has a unique opportunity to play catalyst in the world’s transition to a circular economy and low-carbon society.
Pulp and paper industry footprint
With the rise in global demand for paper products, driven by an increasing population and a shift from single-use plastics, the industry serves a market worth $351.7billion. This is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 1.7 percent from 2025 to 2035,5 which brings both opportunities and challenges - manufacturers must find ways to improve productivity while reducing their environmental impact.
In 2024, pulp production remained heavily concentrated in the Americas, which supplied nearly 45 percent of global output, reflecting the region’s deep resource base and export‑oriented mill system. Asia ranked second with just over 30 percent of world production, underpinned by strong demand for packaging and tissue, while Europe contributed almost 23 percent, supported by a long‑established, technology‑intensive industry. At the national level, the United States was the world's largest producer of pulp for paper in 2024, with an output of some 35.9 million metric tons. China was the second-largest producer with 31.7 million metric tons, followed by Brazil, Canada, and Sweden.6
How interdependant is the pulp and paper industry ?
What are the challenges and path forward for the pulp and paper industry?
<p>Today’s pulp and paper industry is evolving, adapting to new consumer needs and innovative product possibilities, including paper-based alternatives for bags, bottles, and even battery components. But achieving this evolution sustainably requires overcoming significant challenges. As the industry moves forward, these innovations will be critical in reducing emissions and ensuring that the pulp and paper sector can meet the world’s demands sustainably.</p>
Water consumption
<p><a href="https://www.abb.com/global/en/company/innovation/news/sustainable-water-management-pulp-and-paper-industry#:~:text=This%20limited%20resource%20is%20crucial,percent%20of%20global%20water%20consumption.">The pulp and paper industry is responsible for 12 percent of global water consumption.</a> This has forced companies to focus increasingly on sustainability measures, as they seek to reduce water and chemical usage without sacrificing product quality.</p>Energy consumption
<p>Paper production is one of the most heat-intensive industrial processes. Innovations such as waste heat recovery, co-generation, and advanced heat pumps that repurpose latent heat from drying processes are paving the way for more efficient energy usage.</p>Technology scale-up
<p>There is an urgent need for technologies that can fully decarbonize the industry. Solutions like carbon capture and storage, electric boilers, and cost-effective heat pumps hold promise but require further development and investment to make widespread adoption feasible.</p>ABB`s automation and digitalization solutions help the pulp and paper industry outrun
ABB has a rich history with the paper and pulp industry. Our automation, digitalization and modern equipment are essential for the pulp and paper industry and can minimize resource consumption, reduce emissions, and improve process efficiency. For example predictive solutions like the ABB Ability™ Predictive Intelligence for powertrains are reshaping maintenance culture by turning asset monitoring into a continuous, data-driven dialogue.
Behind every solution is a global network of dedicated experts who bring decades of industry knowledge, a pioneering spirit and a collaborative approach. Working side by side with customers, they co-create tailored solutions for lasting value.
Some ABB solutions include:
Key Case Studies around the world
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Egypt
ABB drives quality management and reliability for paper mills in Egypt
ABB has won an order from Flex Asepto Egypt, for its L&W laboratory testing instruments and dedicated digital solution for the L&W Lab Management System. The technologies will support Asepto’s new aseptic liquid manufacturing plant in Egypt, enabling digitalized, high-performance quality management and further their reach across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
A project to modernize an ACS600 multidrive at Al Bardi Paper Mill in Egypt has upgraded it to the latest drive technology, increasing its reliability by approximately 30% and extending its lifetime by at least 12 years.
Sweden
Modernizing Billerud`s paper machine
ABB has signed an agreement with Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer Billerud to modernize a paper machine at the company’s Gävle mill, one of its key sites for producing liquid packaging board and liner. The contract will bring new automation capabilities, updated hardware, improved quality control and refreshed drive technology to a machine that supports a significant share of Billerud’s global packaging output.
Netherlands
Advancing modernization and sustainability in Netherland`s paper mills
ABB’s L&W Fiber & Freeness Online is integrated into Sappi’s papermaking process for greater productivity, energy and resource efficiency. The advanced solution enables better visibility into pulp quality, optimizing control and refining on-specification outputs.
Rockwool, Netherland`s Roermond facility partnered with ABB to replace their legacy motors with IE4 and IE5 Ultra-Premium efficiency SynRM units, paired with ACS880 drives. This helped them avoid 142 tonnes of CO₂ and cut 738 MWh of energy use every year - enough to power around 200 European households.
United Kingdom
Enhancing efficiency at DS Smith
ABB has been awarded a contract by DS Smith to supply electrification, automation and digital solutions for a new stock preparation line at the company’s flagship Kemsley Paper Mill in Kent, UK. The project forms a key part of DS Smith’s £50 million investment to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact and support future growth at the site.
Greece
Optimizing tissue production at Intertrade Hellas
ABB has been awarded a new contract by Intertrade Hellas S.A. to supply its quality control system (QCS) to existing and new tissue machines at the company’s Inofyta facility. The project includes ABB’s Network Platform (NP) 1200-based QCS platform with integrated sensors and controls, designed to improve product consistency, process efficiency and data visibility across production lines.
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India
ABB partners with Ruchira Papers to improve uptime
Ruchira Papers entered into an ABB Motion OneCare service agreement where ABB has taken full responsibility for servicing around 55 ABB drives from all life-cycle stages. Since the agreement went into effect, uptime has already risen to 94.8 percent, an increase of almost 13 percent. The goal is to continuously increase uptime while gradually modernizing drives that are nearing the end of their life cycle.
Mexico
Landmark modernization project for key Smurfit Kappa board mill
ABB secured a landmark contract to modernize Smurfit Kappa’s Paper Machine 5 (PM5) at its Cerro Gordo corrugated cardboard mill near Mexico City. Our ABB Ability™ System 800xA® distributed control system (DCS), accompanied by a comprehensive paper machine drives system, will optimize PM5’s performance.
Engineered to Outrun
Partnering with our customers using our electrification, automation and digitalization technologies, along with measurement and control products and applications, we help the pulp and paper industry outrun leaner and cleaner.