The problem
Seed coatings are everywhere in modern farming. They stick fungicides, insecticides, nutrients and biological treatments to the seed so crops get protection from their very first days, and they make seeds flow smoothly through planting machines. But the binders and film formers in many coatings are petroleum-based polymers. Over time they add to the microplastics building up in farmland.
Europe has decided this must stop. The EU’s restriction on synthetic polymer microparticles intentionally added to products, Regulation (EU) 2023/2055, began applying on 17 October 2023, with transition periods for specific uses. Coatings also shed dust when seeds are handled and sown, and that dust can carry pesticides into the air.
The product
Exilva is microfibrillated cellulose, one of the family of materials often called nanocellulose. Borregaard makes it by mechanically breaking cellulose fibres apart into long, thin fibrils. According to Borregaard, MFC fibrils have diameters in the nanometre range and lengths in the micrometre range, giving them a very high aspect ratio and the ability to form a strong three-dimensional network in water.
The company is careful about the terminology. It explains that MFC has a wide size distribution: some fibrils are nanoscale and others larger, unlike cellulose nanocrystals. It describes Exilva as water-suspended, biodegradable, non-soluble bundles of cellulose microfibrils that work in water-based and polar solvent formulations.
In seed coatings, Exilva acts as a film former and structuring agent. It keeps solids, actives, pigments and nutrients evenly suspended even in salty, high-solids mixtures across a wide pH range. It forms porous films that Borregaard says allow early germination, and it can be combined with starch-based binders to make coatings that are free of microplastics and biodegradable.
How it works
- Pulp. Borregaard’s biorefinery separates cellulose from wood.
- Fibrillate. Mechanical treatment splits the fibres into fine fibrils.
- Disperse. The fibrils are supplied suspended in water as a gel-like dispersion.
- Formulate. Seed treatment makers mix Exilva into their coating liquids.
- Coat. The fibril network forms a porous, even film on each seed.
- Biodegrade. After sowing, the cellulose breaks down in soil.
Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Late 1970s | MFC first studied at ITT Rayonier’s labs in the US |
| 1983 to 2005 | Little industrial activity in MFC, according to Borregaard |
| Q3 2016 | First large-scale commercial MFC plant starts in Sarpsborg |
| 17 Oct 2023 | EU microplastics restriction begins applying |
| 2026 | Exilva marketed as a microplastic-free film former for seed coatings |
| Q2 2026 | Borregaard revenues NOK 2,114 million; NOK 150 million cost programme under way |
| 2028 | Full effect of the cost improvement programme expected |
Impact and numbers
The clearest evidence comes from a test by an external research institute, reported by Borregaard. A commercial soybean seed treatment containing three active ingredients, pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl and imidacloprid, was applied with and without Exilva. Adding Exilva cut dust-off by around 60%, from 0.03 to 0.01 g of dust per 100,000 seeds. Flowability stayed similar, and plantability improved without making the seeds tacky.
Less dust matters because dust from treated seeds can carry active ingredients off the seed during handling and sowing, wasting product and exposing workers and the surroundings. A microplastic-free film former also helps seed companies prepare for EU rules.
Exilva is made at industrial scale, which took decades. Borregaard’s own history of MFC notes that it was first studied in the late 1970s at ITT Rayonier’s laboratories in the US, which never developed full-scale production, and that from 1983 to 2005 there was little industrial activity. Making MFC commercially is hard: fibrillating cellulose and handling the material is demanding, and drying it without losing performance is difficult, which is why Exilva is supplied as a water dispersion. Borregaard describes its Sarpsborg plant, starting in Q3 2016, as the first large-scale commercial plant for MFC production, with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes of dispersion, equivalent to 1,000 tonnes on a dry basis. Its guide also reports trials where small amounts of MFC were added to a herbicide solution and changed how effectively it worked on test plants.
Borregaard itself is a sizeable business. In the second quarter of 2026, operating revenues rose to NOK 2,114 million, and its BioSolutions division sold higher volumes.
Honest caveats
Still pesticides. Exilva makes seed coatings cleaner and less dusty, but the coatings it improves still carry synthetic pesticides, including imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide used in the test formulation.
Company data. The 60% dust reduction comes from a test commissioned and reported by Borregaard; independent field data were not found.
Nano or micro. MFC is a mix of nanoscale and larger fibrils, so whether to call it a nanomaterial depends on definitions.
Group pressures. Borregaard faced higher energy and logistics costs in Q2 2026, recorded a NOK 337 million impairment on its investment in Alginor and a NOK 30 million cost for ground stabilisation at Sarpsborg, and reported a pre-tax loss of NOK 45 million for the quarter. Exilva volumes are not reported separately.
What’s next
Borregaard is positioning Exilva alongside its lignin-based binders as part of a “sustainable seed coating” toolkit, and promoting MFC for coatings, adhesives and composites. Chief executive Tom Erik Foss-Jacobsen says the quarter demonstrates “the resilience of Borregaard’s highly diversified portfolio and broad customer base”. Its cost improvement programme targets NOK 150 million in annual savings, with full effect from 2028.
Why it matters for Europe and green buyers
For Europe, Exilva is a Norwegian, wood-based way to meet the microplastics restriction without giving up coating performance. It turns a renewable forest material into a high-value nano-structured product.
For India, one of the world’s largest seed markets, biodegradable coating additives could cut microplastic build-up in soils as seed treatment spreads. For the world, replacing plastic binders in farming products is a practical, low-profile step against the microplastics that are now found in soil, water and food chains.
Sources & image credits
- Borregaard, “Microfibrillated cellulose, cellulose fibrils or nanocellulose?”. https://www.borregaard.com/insights/microfibrillated-cellulose-or-nanocellulose
- Borregaard, “Exilva: Microfibrillated Cellulose at a glance” (eBook). https://info.borregaard.com/hubfs/Cellulose%20Fibrils/eBooks/Borregaard-Exilva_Microfibrillated-Cellulose-at-a-glance.pdf
- Borregaard, “Microplastic Free and Biodegradable Seed-Coating”. https://www.borregaard.com/insights/microplastic-free-and-biodegradable-seed-coating
- Borregaard, “Electrolyte tolerant film forming agent for seed coatings”. https://www.borregaard.com/markets/agriculture/applications/seed-coating/products/film-forming-agent
- Borregaard, “Exilva as a dust reducing agent in seed coatings”. https://www.borregaard.com/markets/agriculture/exilva/exilva-dust-reduction-in-seed-coatings-and-treatments
- Borregaard, “2nd Quarter 2026 Results”, Jul 2026. https://www.borregaard.com/investors/ir-news/2nd-quarter-2026-results-borregaard
- European Commission, “Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2055: Restriction of microplastics intentionally added to products”. https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/chemicals/reach/restrictions/commission-regulation-eu-20232055-restriction-microplastics-intentionally-added-products_en
- Wikimedia Commons, “Utsiktspunkt over Borregaard med Glomma”. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Utsiktspunkt_over_Borregaard_med_Glomma.jpg
Images: “Utsiktspunkt over Borregaard med Glomma”, Vegard Gran, 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative; shows the site, not the product.
