€2M Boost for Five National Wood-Construction Projects
More than €2 million has been secured over two years to fund five ministry-backed projects on product development, education and circular-economy work in wooden construction.
Wood Construction Academy Finland (WCA Finland) has secured more than €2 million in funding over two years to support five projects backed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
The projects cover product development, education and circular-economy work in wooden construction. PuuInno will study how wooden construction solutions move from invention to market adoption. PuuHyVä 2.0 will produce an open design guideline for wood-concrete connector slabs. TehoPuu focuses on strengthening vocational skills for industrial timber construction. CarBio is developing methods to assess carbon and biodiversity impacts. ROBOPUU aims to build an industrial value chain and a national verification model for recycled timber to replace the nearly 670,000 tonnes of waste wood currently used almost entirely for energy.
The network is presented as a single entry point for companies, research centres and schools. "For companies this means one clear channel: when a development need is identified, there is a doer, a testing environment and a funding path. Previously it was sought from many doors and often in vain," said project manager Jouni Silvast of Puutuoteteollisuus ry, who leads the network activities.
Leaders say timing is critical as Eurocode 5 is revised and new EU rules on construction products, energy efficiency and deforestation reshape the business environment. The programme brings together partners from secondary schools to universities and industry to turn those regulatory changes into practical design guidance, teaching content and product development. Aku Aspila (Tampere University, Novia) noted the growth: two years ago the work was run on a 20 percent staff allocation at Novia alongside other duties. Now 15 organisations are involved and the programme exceeds €2 million.
WCA Finland will present its work at Puupäivä at the Helsinki Fair Centre on 12 November 2026 and will appear at the event’s 30th-anniversary seminar on 11 November. Several of the five projects and the EU-cofunded Renewing Wood Products 2030 (UPA2030) initiative will be represented at the shared exhibition stand.
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