TreeToTextile will build a demo plant to produce a new sustainable textile fiber

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Type of post: NEWS.

TreeToTextile (venture owned by H&M Group, Inter IKEA Group, Stora Enso and LSCS Invest) will invest 35 M€ in constructing a demonstration plant in Sweden. It is a critical step towards commercializing a new sustainable textile fiber, with scalable technology and low manufacturing cost.

Figure 1. TreeToTextile logo

The cost of the new facility is funded with an investment of 27,4 M€ from the owners and a grant of 7,6 M€ from the Swedish Energy Agency. The plant will be established at Stora Enso’s Nymölla mill in southern Sweden, and the construction will start in spring 2021. The construction is estimated to take approximately one year, with an estimated start of operations during Spring 2022. The production capacity will be 1,500 tons of fiber per year. Dissolving pulp produced from certified wood will be used. The raw material is renewable, 100% traceable to its origins, and comes from sustainably managed forests.

The TreeToTextile technology is a wet-spinning process for regenerating cellulose into staple fibers, ready for further industrial textile manufacturing processes, like spinning into yarn. The process treats dissolving pulp in a cold alkaline solution, transforming it into a cellulosic solution which is spun into long filaments and cut into staple fibers. The process includes a recovery system that reuses the water and chemicals. The new technology means less use of energy, chemicals and water when benchmarked to the production of conventional fibers. It is engineered to suit large scale production and includes a recovery system for reusing chemicals.

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