Visit to the sustainable Lyocell factory of fiber manufacturer Altri in Portugal

On the outskirts of Porto, in the Portuguese town of Vila Nova de Famalicão, the Centre for Nanotechnology and Engineering Materials (CENTI) and the Textile Technology Centre of Portugal (CITEVE) are located side by side. These centres work together to promote Portuguese textiles as a benchmark for a new sustainable and circular European textile industry. This includes a pilot plant for the production of lyocell by the cellulose company Altri. It serves as a model for its controversial "Gama project", a lyocell macro plant it wants to build in the Spanish town of Palas de Rei.

Altri is determined to push ahead with the development of the project despite public opposition. Local residents, environmental organization Greenpeace and the Spanish government itself are all trying to stop the project, which has so far received no public support from clothing group Inditex. A commercial agreement, for example, would provide some guarantee for the project's viability, as is the case with similar initiatives to produce sustainable textiles, such as Inditex's investments in Infinited Fiber and other sustainable textile innovation start-ups such as Circ and Galy .

The planned macro plant for the production of lyocell will be operated by the Spanish company GreenFiber, which is 75 percent owned by Altri and 25 percent by the Spanish biomass power producer Greenalia. The municipality of Palas de Rei is located in the heart of Galicia, at the junction of the provinces of Lugo, La Coruña, Pontevedra and Orense.

To illustrate the Gama project, Altri opened the doors to the CENTI and CITEVE facilities on October 9. FashionUnited was there to hear about the process that Altri is trying to scale as the basis for the Gama project, which aims to advance the sustainability and circularity of the European textile industry in general and in Galicia in particular, given the entry into force of various new EU regulations.

"It takes many years of research and investment to adapt a technology to industrial scale, but at Gama this is already possible because at Altri we have been researching a sustainable production process at all levels since 2014," said Carlos Vaz Zeller, Altri's Operations Manager and Vice President, during the visit to CITEVE.

Altri was then still specialised in the production of pulp for the paper industry, but decided to diversify the basis of its business model and start exploring possible applications of plant-based cellulose fibres in the textile industry. This started with a soluble cellulose plant (Caima) and accelerated in 2019 through a partnership with CITEVE, where more than 400 researchers specialised in textile innovation work, and with CENTI, where more than 150 researchers focus on next-gen materials.

The result is the pilot lyocell production plant, which could be a model for the GreenFiber factory in Palas de Rei. A plant for which "we have the raw material and the technology" to add value to "two strategic sectors, textile and forestry," explains Altris COO and Vice President Carlos Vaz Zeller. The venture thus covers the entire value chain. "We have also carried out tests on the incorporation of textile waste into the production of lyocell, which will be carried out from the Palas de Rei plant, which consolidates its value not only as a sustainable fiber factory, but also as a center for the recycling and valorization of textile waste," adds Vaz Zeller.

A fiber of natural origin that is 100 percent biodegradable and free of microplastics and toxins

By diversifying in 2014 and expanding globally, Altri anticipated the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, launched under the auspices of the United Nations and adopted in December 2018. Its goals include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and finding a decarbonization path for the industry. Both goals for which Altri and GreenFiber have just begun researching lyocell in the pilot plant and which will now be produced on a large scale in Palas de Rei. The company calls it "the most environmentally friendly fiber of plant origin," and one of its special features is that it is "100 percent biodegradable."

Regarding the properties of these fibers derived from natural cellulose, GreenFiber and Altri emphasize that the resistance of the lyocell fibers produced as part of the Gama project is comparable to that of polyester and much higher than that of cotton. They are very soft to the touch and have excellent moisture management, which makes them particularly suitable for warm climates and for the production of sportswear. They also maintain high quality even over several recycling cycles and, due to their composition, do not release microplastics when washed, unlike synthetic polyester or nylon fibers.

In addition to these more sustainable and circular properties, GreenFiber and Altri claim that the production of lyocell generates about 2.5 tons of CO2 per ton of textile fiber produced, compared to 6 tons generated by cotton fiber - in addition to its very high water footprint - or up to 12 tons generated by synthetic fibers such as polyester. The lyocell fiber produced in Palas de Rei aims to reduce this further, generating only 0.1 tons of CO2 per ton of textile fiber produced, according to the company.

This is possible because the plant is the first in the world to integrate the two processes required to produce Lyocell in one plant: the process for producing soluble fibres for textile applications exclusively for the textile industry and the production of Lyocell fibres in the same plant from these soluble fibres. The production takes place using a recyclable and non-toxic organic solvent in a closed loop in which more than 99 percent of the solvent used, in this case water, is recycled.

A project to enhance wood from Galician forests and position the region at the "world's forefront of the sustainable textile industry"

With an estimated investment of one billion euros and the creation of around 500 direct jobs, Altri and GreenFiber are trying to answer the doubts that the construction of the Gama project continues to generate with data and concrete explanations. They emphasize the sustainability and environmental friendliness of the fibers and the manufacturing process. The lyocell production plant of natural cellulosic origin aims, on the one hand, to add value to Galician wood and forests and counteract the further loss of biodiversity, and, on the other hand, to position Galicia as a benchmark for a sustainable European textile industry.

The companies argue that the plant will only use part of the 2.4 million cubic metres of eucalyptus wood currently exported annually from Galicia as raw material, so that this wood will be treated and valued directly in the Community.

Regarding the positioning of Galicia as a benchmark for a new European textile industry that is sustainable and circular, CITEVE Director General Braz Costa and its researcher in the Biotechnology Department Carla Silva drew attention to the digital product passport , which is expected to come into force in 2026. This will redesign the entire reality of the sector, both internally and in the eyes of consumers, providing them with all the essential characteristics and manufacturing details of the garments sold in Europe. This includes data on the raw materials used, traceability throughout the manufacturing process, the number of liters of water consumed, the amount of CO2 emitted, information on the chemical products used and the indication of the percentage of recycled material in their composition.

Information that, according to CITEVE, is intended to make consumers aware of the significant difference between clothing made in Europe and that made in Asia, as well as the differences between garments made from petroleum, those made from cotton fibres and those made from biodegradable and more sustainable fibres such as lyocell fibres.

With the introduction of the digital product passport, "the European textile industry has a great opportunity compared to Asia," Costa also stressed. For him, Gama is a project that aims to show "what a privileged position Galicia and Portugal are in" to be leaders in this sector and "to put Galicia at the forefront of the global sustainable textile industry."

FashionUnited was invited to visit Altris pilot plant in Portugal.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.es. Translated and edited using an AI tool.