Fold project ended successfully in the end of 2023. Project got continuation in the spring, when Fold2 received a positive funding decision from Business Finland for the years 2024-2026. The kick-off event for the new Fold2 project was held in April 2024.

The overall vision for the Fold2 consortium is to create a new portfolio of industrially foldable products. The novel folding technology will be a radical innovation in several industry areas, enabling industrial scale production of never-before seen novel structures for a wide variety of applications. Similar research has earlier carried out in Europe, but industrial scale has not reached. Fold consortium, led by VTT, succeed to develop working machine concept for paperboard material in laboratory scale in 2022-2023. Through large scale implementation, the Fold technology supports and contributes to realizing the EU Green Transition Goals.

The key objective for the Fold2 project is the design of production line concepts that will lay the foundation for industrial investments. Secondly, design of product concepts, application of cutting technology and folding of thick structures will be carried out through a highly multi-disciplinary approach. There is not yet folding technology based on simple (origami) tessellation designs that reach large scale industrial production. Global business areas the novel solutions will penetrate creates immense potential for new business opportunities and increment of export potential for consortium companies and relevant Finnish industry being the first at global market.


VTT is the coordinator of the Fold project and leads the design of the Fold technology concepts and testing as well as experimental performance tests. Aalto and VTT together develop further designs of tessellation concepts, and  co-operate closely with a consortium of Finnish companies: Anpap, Marja-Suomen Taimituotanto, Mirka, Soften, Stora Enso and Walki.