Fulfilling the industrial potential of nanocellulose

Overpromising has been a constant trait of the nanosciences, and the case of nanocellulose makes no exception. Regardless of substantial academic and industrial research efforts re-started in the early 2000s, global production nanocellulose in 2018 amounted to less than 40,000 tonnes, chiefly in the form of microfibrillated cellulose for low value utilization in paper and cardboard products. Since the early 2000s market research analysts regularly estimate large market annual growth rates that so far never materialized. Besides replacement of conventional production methods with economically viable green chemistry processes, fulfilling the nanocellulose industrial potential requires to learn from the hype technology phase.