Consortium

The project consortium, led by Luke, comprises 17 partners with multi-disciplinary complementary expertise. It includes 7 industry partners (5 of which are SMEs), 5 university partners, and 5 research institutes from across 7 European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Sweden).

Map of OptiForValue consortium in Europe

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Prof. Mauricio Acuna - Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

Coordinator team WP7 OptiCoordinate & WP5 OptiDemo lead

Prof. Acuna holds a PhD in Forest Engineering from Oregon State University, an MSc in Operations Research and Management from the University of Chile, and a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering from the Austral University of Chile. He is currently a Research Professor of AI and Automation in Forest Operations at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.
With nearly 30 years of professional experience, Prof. Acuna is recognised as a leading researcher in forest technology and wood supply chain optimisation at both the national and international levels. His international experience includes short-term visits and collaborations with organisations in Chile, Uruguay, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. His research focuses on the application of sensing technology and artificial intelligence in the forest supply chain, as well as mathematical programming and optimisation techniques in forest management and operations. He has extensive expertise in wood and biomass harvesting, transport logistics, and harvesting machine evaluation.
Currently, he leads multiple projects aimed at optimising wood supply chains and integrating LiDAR and camera sensors into harvesting equipment to enhance decision-making and maximise value recovery in forest operations. His work seeks to develop innovative, AI-driven solutions that improve efficiency, sustainability, and automation in modern forestry.

Email: mauricio.acuna@luke.fi

Johanna Routa

Coordinator team WP7 OptiCoordinate

Dr. Johanna Routa is a research manager and a principal scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), specialising in sustainable forestry, bioenergy, and wood-based value chains. Her work focuses on optimising forest resource utilization, enhancing bioeconomy strategies, and advancing renewable energy solutions. She collaborates with industry and policymakers to promote sustainable forest management and the efficient use of wood-based biomass. She has participated in number of international and national research projects as researcher, project manager and coordinator. In OptiForValue, she participates in project coordination as part of Luke’s coordination team.

Email: johanna.routa@luke.fi

Consortium

ERINN INNOVATION

denkstatt

Technical University of Munich

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research & Technology (INICA)
Institute of Forestry Sciences (ICIFOR)

Cesefor Foundation

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)

WOOD K PLUS

Linnaeus University

Creative Optimization

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Skogforsk – Forestry Research Institute of Sweden

PONSSE

Arbonaut OY

Finnos OY

Metsäteho OY

University of Helsinki

Luke Natural Resources Institute Finland

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Consortium

ERINN INNOVATION

denkstatt

Technical University of Munich

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research & Technology (INICA)Institute of Forestry Sciences (ICIFOR)

Cesefor Foundation

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)

WOOD K PLUS

Linnaeus University

Creative Optimization

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Skogforsk – Forestry Research Institute of Sweden

PONSSE

Arbonaut OY

Finnos OY

Metsäteho OY

University of Helsinki

Luke Natural Resources Institute Finland

Partners

Luke Natural Resources Institute (Luke) Finland

Prof. Mauricio Acuna - Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

Johanna Routa

Linnaeus University (LNU) Sweden

Johan Fransson

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) Sweden

Ola Lindroos

Ernst & Young denkstatt (EY denkstatt) Bulgaria

Tzveta Medarska

Peter Seizov

ERINN Innovation (ERINN) Ireland

Olga Ormond

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) Austria

Christian Kanzian

Sonja Vospernik

WOOD K PLUS (WOOD K PLUS) Austria

Christian Hansmann

Axel Solt-Rindler

Cesefor Foundation (Cesefor) Spain

Gonzalo Caballé

Pablo Sabin

Skogforsk - Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk) Sweden

Mats Berlin

Creative Optimization (CrOpt) Sweden

Mikael Frisk

University of Helsinki (UH ) Finland

Jori J Uusitalo

Omid Abdi

Technical University of Munich (TUM) Germany

Allan Buras

Ponsse Plc (Ponsse) Finland

Jukka Laitinen

Samantha Kiljunen

Finnos Oy (Finnos) Finland

Tomi Kauppi

Tapio Leppälampi

Arbonaut OY (Arbonaut) Finland

Vesa Leppänen

Mikko Saarimaa

Metsäteho OY (Metsäteho) Finland

Jukka Malinen

CSIC - Spanish National Research Council (ICIFOR-INIA,CSIC)

Miren del Rio Gaztelurrutia

Jorge Aldea Malloa

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research & Technology (INICA)
Institute of Forestry Sciences (ICIFOR)