In a next step towards commercializing a new sustainable textile fiber, with scalable technology and low manufacturing cost, technology development company TreeToTextile AB, Stockholm/Sweden, is investing €35 million in constructing a demonstration plant in Sweden. Owned by H&M Group, Stockholm, Inter IKEA Group, Delft/Netherlands, Stora Enso Oyj, Helsinki/Finland, and LSCS Invest AB, Skåne/Sweden, the company aims to make sustainable textile fibers available to all.
TreeToTextile offers a new technology to produce bio-based textile fibers with a low environmental footprint at an attractive cost level. The new fiber is a regenerated cellulosic fiber, produced from renewable and sustainably sourced raw materials from the forest.
Looking at the sustainability targets, the new technology would mean less use of energy, chemicals and water when benchmarked to the production of conventional fibers. The novel process is engineered to suit large scale production and includes a recovery system for reusing chemicals. TreeToTextile’s strong sustainability performance is confirmed by a third party verified Life-Cycle-Assessment study.
The new demonstration plant will be established at Stora Enso’s Nymölla mill in southern Sweden, and construction will start in spring 2021. The production capacity will be 1,500 tons fiber/year.