Drying pulp, sludge and biomass means evaporating tonnes of water, and every tonne takes energy. TM System Finland, a Turku company that has supplied air and drying systems to the process industry since 1978, developed SuperDryer, a dryer that its EU project report says "recovers 100% of heat and evaporated moisture" and captures dust, CO2 and volatile organic compounds.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,457,000 towards a €3.51 million project that built a demonstration unit. In autumn 2024 the first full-scale SuperDryer was commissioned at CH-Bioforce's biorefinery in Southwest Finland. No second order has been announced.
Company file
- Legal entity
- TM System Finland Oy, business ID 0141686-8, Turku, Finland
- Founded
- 1978, as Teollisuusmittaus; current name since 1993
- Brand
- TM Systems
- Core business
- Air, drying and emission control systems for the process industry
- SuperDryer
- Hybrid flash dryer for pulp, fibres, sludge and biomass
- Sites
- Turku test facility; operations in China
- EIC project
- SuperDryer, 1 Apr 2022 to 31 Dec 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
Where TM Systems Stands Today
TM Systems markets SuperDryer as a hybrid flash dryer for evaporation rates from 0.1 to 10 kg per second, using about 700 kWh of heat and 80 kWh of electricity per tonne of water evaporated, and cites one commercial installation at "a Finnish biorefinery". It also offers a biomass drying test facility in Turku. In February 2026 it received the "Strongest in Finland" Gold certificate, which requires a credit rating of AA+ or better. Its latest news, from May 2026, concerns its paper machine business with Shanying Paper in China.
The Technology: A Closed-Loop Dryer
SuperDryer dries fibrous material in a stream of hot air and recovers the heat and water from the exhaust instead of releasing them. At CH-Bioforce it dries agricultural and food industry residues, turning about 35,000 tonnes of wet biomass into 15,000 tonnes of dry material a year, using existing steam and waste heat from surrounding processes to preheat its air, according to TM Systems.
"The dryer uses existing energy sources, such as steam, while the preheating coils in the air intake unit utilize waste heat from surrounding processes, significantly reducing energy demand."
TM Systems, on the first SuperDryer delivery, January 2025What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
When it announced the award, TM Systems said SuperDryer aims to "significantly reduce energy consumption in drying processes, cut emissions to zero and turn processes CO2 negative", for pulp, recycled fibres and sludge. The CORDIS report describes a demonstration unit with "all industrially functional capabilities" at its own site, tests on about 500 kg of materials from pulp to wastewater sludge, and customer cases. For an average pulp or paper mill it estimates up to €5 million a year in energy savings and 42,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided when replacing fossil-fuelled dryers. These are projections, not measured results.
- A demonstration dryerDeliveredBuilt and tested in Turku.
- A first commercial unitDeliveredCH-Bioforce, autumn 2024.
- Pulp and paper millsNot shownNo mill order announced.
- Measured emission cutsNot shownProjections only.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
The award was blended finance. We found no record of an EIC Fund investment in TM System Finland. The company is an established supplier, and its Gold certificate indicates sound finances, but its revenue and the value of the CH-Bioforce order are not published.
What cannot be checked
Whether the EIC took equity, the SuperDryer's measured energy use and emissions at CH-Bioforce, and whether any further units have been sold are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
TM Systems' own figures put the possible saving from its dryer at up to €5 million a year for an average pulp or paper mill. Here the EIC funded an established industrial supplier, not a start-up, to launch a new product, and got one full-scale plant out of it within the project period.
What the project promised
A clean fibre dryer to cut emissions in paper production, urban sludge and textile recycling.
What the record shows
A demonstrator and one biorefinery installation; no paper mill, sludge or textile customer announced.
The Verdict
Launched, not yet spreading
SuperDryer went from demonstrator to a commercial plant within the project period. But the project was pitched at paper mills, sludge and clothes recycling, and the one delivery so far dries farm and food residues. The next orders will show whether it becomes a product line.
TM Systems has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements, EU project data and the Finnish Trade Register, linked throughout.
