Since 2013, the Forest Products Laboratory and U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities have partnered through the P3Nano program to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly forest products and accelerate commercialization of high-value cellulosic nanomaterials. This public-private partnership shows how quickly new discoveries from the Lab can move into new applications and commercialization, thereby creating more sustainable products and businesses using wood.

The P3Nano program has provided over 25 million dollars in research funding for more than 70 projects to over 45 universities and companies across the country. This program has advanced U.S. capabilities in nanocellulose production, fundamental research, applied research in technology, and application development. 

Implications

Forest-based economies in rural areas struggle to find outlets for small diameter trees and sawmill residuals. High-value nanocellulose can be made from low-value pulp or directly from chips and residuals. Nanocellulose will have growing markets due to a desire to replace plastic in packaging and unsustainable materials in construction. In addition, higher paying jobs such as manufacturing and converting may find it convenient to locate closer to the source of raw materials in rural areas.

Outcomes

• Funded more than 70 projects at over 25 universities and 20 companies across the country
• Two projects are close to commercial launch 
• Funded 6 technologies scaled up from the laboratory to pilot study and field trials
• Produced 7 patents, with another 12 in review
• Co-authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications

Research Themes:

• Production: P3Nano research has evaluated ways to optimize production of nanocellulose materials through higher yields, lower costs, and alternate feed stocks. Additional efforts have also included the development of improved, industry relevant methods for characterizing nanocellulose materials. 
• Environmental Health and Safety: P3Nano has completed various studies to evaluate the environmental safety of nanocellulose materials to ensure that they are safe for the environment and people, which has resulted in 23 peer reviewed publications. P3Nano has worked extensively via industry partner Vireo Advisors to lead all Environmental Health and Safety efforts. Projects included testing toxicity and developing materials safety data sheets, FDA-Generally Regarded as Safe, and a Safer-by-design toolbox to advance safer manufacturing of modified nanocellulose materials. 
• Composites: A composite is a material made of two or more constituent materials that each contribute their properties to the whole composite, resulting in new properties and characteristics. P3Nano research has included various innovations in the development of nanocellulose resins, laminates, continuous fibers, coatings, films, and additives to fiber glass and automotive composites. 
• Packaging: Research has investigated various approaches on the development of sustainable food packaging using nanocellulose materials. Examples include development of packaging materials free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), coated molded pulp containers, nanocellulose resin films, nanocellulose composites, paper additives to increase water resistance, and coatings to preserve perishable fruits.
• Construction: Research has explored innovative approaches to use nanocellulose materials to enhance veneer properties, structural foams, and adhesive free wallboards and particle boards.
• Cement/Concrete: Research has developed nanocellulose as an additive to cementitious materials, such as cement and concrete. This research has studied aspects such as developing formulation mixtures, understanding mechanisms of improved performance (mechanical, durability, rheology), reducing carbon dioxide emissions, 3D printing, extrusion, and cast-in-place. P3Nano has also supported full scale installations of nanocellulose-enhanced concrete in sidewalks, parking lots, a bridge deck, and a dam spillway to test nanocellulose-concrete formulations in industrial applications.
• Agriculture: P3Nano research contributes to sustainable and productive agriculture by using nanocellulose materials in crop coatings for improved frost protection and safe pesticides.
• Novel Uses: P3Nano research has explored many novel and unexpected uses of nanocellulose materials such as: artificial muscles, battery technology, drilling fluids, flexible electronics, firefighting fluids, passive cooling, biobased foams, advanced filter media for removal of PFAS.
• Techno-Economic Analysis and Life-Cycle Analysis: P3Nano research has completed in-depth techno-economic and life cycle analyses of nanocellulose production and nanocellulose enabled products to shed light on cost projections, profitability, and sustainability. 

Key Achievements:

Environmental Health and Safety: 

• Developed a roadmap for testing toxicity of second-generation cellulose nanomaterials by identifying gaps in current state of knowledge and outlining an approach to coordinate the international research community. 
• Developed datasets and resources, including methods and safety studies, demonstrating the safe use of microfibrillated cellulose and cellulose nanocrystals for food and food-contact applications to facilitate regulatory approval and commercialization.  This program led the successful effort to gain Food Contact Notifications in the United States (in February 2025) for five industrial forms of microfibrillated cellulose, with broad uses in food contact applications. 
• Developed a nanomaterial life-cycle risk assessment for functionalized cellulose nanomaterials for applications in water filtration, food contact packaging, and food additives. 

Composites:

• Demonstrated scaled-up production of the Nanocellulose Dispersion Composite™ for use in tire production and completed full-scale tire trials on roads. Nanocellulose replaces unsustainable carbon black and reduces rolling resistance in tires by 5 percent, saving fuel and reducing pollution.

Packaging:

• Patented a new process for making continuous clear films of nanocellulose that could account for up to 5 percent of the cold-seal plastic film market in the next 10 years. 
• Demonstrated and published results on a new food safe, biodegradable nanocellulose fruit coating that doubles the shelf life of bananas and could account for up to 10 percent of the $3.6 billion global fruit coating market in the next five to 10 years.

Construction: 

• Demonstrated the high potential of microfibrillated cellulose for use as a binder in constructing particleboard, wallboard, and fiberboard resulting in formaldehyde-free wood-based products that are recyclable. This work enabled follow-up pilot-scale trials of this technology through USDA-ARS funding.

Cement/concrete:

• Cast-in-place paved structure demonstrations (slabs-on-ground): sidewalk (2018 Madison, Wisconsin), parking lot (2019 Greenville, South Carolina), baseball spectator area (2020 Yreka, California), sidewalk (2023 Corvallis, Oregon).
• Used 3D printing and extrusion methods to produce curb and gutter structures.
• Constructed prestressed box girders for a bridge installed over Moffett Creek in Yreka, California in 2024. 
• Constructed a spillway dam at Wildwood Farm in Georgia in 2025.  

Agriculture:

• Developed a nanocellulose enabled frost-protection coating formulation that optimized cost and completed field trials to commercialize frost-protection of tree fruits using cellulose nanofibrils. 

Novel Uses:

• Drilling fluids: Discovered that adding microfibrillated cellulose to drilling fluids significantly improved performance of drills used in drilling oil wells. This technology was scaled-up to a commercial-scale process for manufacturing high-performance microfibrillated cellulose-mediated drilling fluid additive.
• Sunscreen: Developed a topical sunscreen using cellulose nanocrystals that has achieved higher sun protection factor values without increasing the amount of zinc oxide. 
• Flexible electronics: Applied for a patent for sensors that can measure and report moisture and other environmental conditions in farmers' fields and then biodegrade after the growing season.