Materials

Troldtekt acoustic panels are made from wood and cement. At Troldtekt we only use FSC® ^(FSC^®C115450) and PEFC (PEFC/09-31-030) certified wood from Danish forests. And our panels are also available based on the reduced carbon cement type FUTURECEM^TM.

Troldtekt acoustic panels consist of certified wood, which is a natural material, and cement extracted from the Danish subsoil. The two ingredients are used to produce the original Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool panels with their unique acoustic properties.

All of the timber we use is Norway spruce sourced from Danish forests. Danish wood is a renewable resource, as more trees are planted than are logged. Wood is also a carbon-neutral resource because the tree absorbs CO₂ from the atmosphere as it grows and stores it until it is burned.

For Troldtekt, certification, including traceability of the wood we use, is crucial. Since 2020, we have been certified by both leading standards for responsible forestry: FSC and PEFC. With the two certifications, we support forest biodiversity in line with UN SDG 15: Life on Land.

Strict traceability requirements

Troldtekt achieved FSC certification back in 2013 and since 2018 has also been authorised to offer products in the ‘FSC 100%’ category, which means that all of the wood in each acoustic panel meets FSC requirements. This imposes strict traceability requirements, from when the wood arrives at our factory until we deliver the finished acoustic panels to customers.

FSC certified timber is kept separate from PEFC certified timber throughout the production process, which means that every wood fibre in an FSC certified Troldtekt acoustic panel is guaranteed to come from FSC certified forests. And before we produce the FSC certified acoustic panels, the production line is thoroughly cleaned.

Supplemented with PEFC certification

The demand for certified wood is increasing in the construction industry, which is why Troldtekt decided to supplement its FSC certification with PEFC certification. This provides customers with documentation that all the wood in our panels comes from responsible forestry operations.

Troldtekt has also previously been PEFC certified, but from the beginning of 2018 we chose to go all in on the other leading certification scheme, FSC. Since then, however, we have experienced that demand has grown, making it difficult for us to source a sufficient amount of timber from Danish FSC certified forests.

Therefore, in 2020, we decided again to obtain PEFC certification for our products so that all Troldtekt acoustic panels are certified. In practice, 100 per cent of the timber is PEFC certified and a large proportion is also FSC certified as it comes from ‘double-certified’ forests. However, finished acoustic panels can only have one of the two certifications.

The strength of cement offers advantages

Troldtekt acoustic panels have the outstanding properties of the raw materials from which they are made: the flexibility and breathability of wood combined with the strength, robustness and durability of cement. It is also the cement that provides the panels with their fire safety properties – without the use of harmful chemicals. Excellent and valuable properties that would be difficult to achieve with a binder other than cement.

In addition, the cement content means that Troldtekt acoustic panels absorb CO₂ during their service live. During hardening, cement absorbs CO₂ through the chemical process of carbonatisation. Because the cement in Troldtekt cement-bonded wood wool is spread over a large surface, the process is significantly faster for Troldtekt than for solid concrete.

Significantly lower footprint with the new cement type

On the other hand, the production of cement emits a lot of CO₂, and reducing the carbon footprint as much as possible is a key focus area for Troldtekt.

Troldtekt has therefore developed acoustic panels in which the cement has been replaced with the new, low-carbon cement type FUTURECEM^TM . FUTURECEM is a patented type of cement from Aalborg Portland which exploits the synergies between calcined clay and limestone filler. This means that much of the burnt clinker in the cement can be replaced, reducing the carbon footprint by 30 per cent.

Troldtekt based on FUTURECEM has a carbon footprint that is lower than that of Troldtekt based on grey and white cement, measured throughout the entire life cycle of the panels. As of 2024, we have completely phased out the use of traditional grey cement.

The table below shows a comparison of the different Troldtekt products based on traditional white cement and FUTURECEM, respectively. For example, a painted Troldtekt panel based on FUTURECEM has a carbon footprint that is 34 per cent lower than a painted Troldtekt panel based on traditional white cement.

Additional initiatives at Aalborg Portland

We are in an ongoing dialogue with Aalborg Portland, which is working on a number of initiatives to further reduce carbon emissions. Aalborg Portland has promised the Danish government that it will reduce its carbon emissions by 70 per cent by 2050 at the latest.

This will be achieved, among other things, by focusing on energy efficiency, phasing out fossil fuels, carbon capture, increasing the use of alternative or carbon-neutral fuels, launching greener cement products and supplying carbon-neutral district heating to over 75,000 households.

In addition to our dialogue with Aalborg Portland, we are investigating binders that could function as an alternative to cement. One example is geopolymers, which are not based on chalk, but instead on silica/alumina compounds, which are found in ash from biomass, for example.