The RTDS Group, a nonprofit organization in Austria supporting European research and innovation, has launched a new project as part of Horizon Europe, a key funding program for the European Union .
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Dubbed CELLFIL, the Lenzing Group is leading the project to scale up lyocell filament production. The initiative is backed by roughly $7.5 million in grant funding from the EU and involves 15 industry and academic partners from eight different countries. The goal is to reform the textile industry toward greater sustainability and a circular economy .
“We are proud to be working with key industry and academic partners to advance biobased lyocell filaments and promote a more sustainable and circular textile industry through this innovation project,” said Stephen Webb, project coordinator and CEO of the RTDS Group. “Our consortium partners bring their expertise in sportswear garments, women’s wear, automotive textiles, industrial fibers, machinery as well as valuable academic knowledge.”
The CELLFIL project, led by the RTDS Association with technical coordination by Lenzing, was inaugurated with a kick-off meeting last month. Partners include Aalto University , Adidas, Continental, Filati Poland, Heberlein, Hochschule Niederrhein , Nordfels, Maglificio Ripa , Martur Fompak International, Orange Fiber, Quantis , Ratti Luino and Riga Technical University.
The “centerpiece” of this four-year project is the “sustainable and robust production” of these regenerated cellulose fibers made from wood pulp . By optimizing the entire fabric production process and its intermediate processing steps, the goal is to replace synthetic fibers with lyocell ones in recyclable end applications. The idea, the syndicate said, is to develop and utilize alternative raw material sources for textiles.
Realizing these goals is “crucial” for scaling up lyocell filament production and promoting a circular economy that represents an environmentally friendly alternative to the currently dominant fossil fuel-based synthetic filaments.
“Lenzing is thus, once again , sending a strong signal in favor of sustainability and innovation in the textile industry,” the Vienna-based cellulosic fibers supplier said.
To promote a circular economy in the EU (and elsewhere), the industry must embrace significant change, such as introducing repairable and recyclable materials akin to those CELLFIL seeks to create. However, achieving such sustainable practices requires innovation across the entire value chain , which is currently “fragmented and inefficient,” the RTDS said.
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While Lenzing introduced lyocell filament yarn to the industry—in small volumes , albeit—in 2017, the value chain development and overall market acceptance are still in the early stages. According to Fortune Business Insights , the “rising demand” for lyocell fiber will “flourish the market growth. However, fluctuations in raw material prices impact the overall demand for lyocell fibers as this restricts product demand, which is anticipated to hamper the fiber’s market growth further.
“We are still in the industrial start-up phase for lyocell filaments,” Markus Pichler, head of lyocell filament development at the Lenzing Group and CELLFIL technical coordinator, said. “Any aspects, such as the availability of lyocell filaments in the supply chain and technological adjustments for the processing of cellulose yarns , need to be addressed in order to change the capacities of the textile industry, which is currently more suited to polyester filaments.”
The CELLFIL project (short for CELLulose Lyocell FILaments as a Scalable Solution for Circular Textile Production) aims to develop and validate key production processes across the textile industry value chain, focusing on five key objectives the group deems critical for upscaling lyocell filament production.
This includes optimizing lyocell filament feedstock and yarn production, enhancing yarn functionalization for various applications, refining machine settings for lyocell filament fabric development, developing and validating end-user textile applications for lyocell filament as well as analyzing and optimizing conditions for market acceptance. Furthermore, the project aims to demonstrate the versatility and added value of using these sustainable fibers across various textile applications.
In parallel to technical developments, the EU Horizon-funded endeavor aspires to “ engage policymakers on prerequisites and opportunities for expanding sustainable lyocell filament yarn production across Europe,” per the RTDS. Germanely, CELLFIL also underscores Europe’s commitment to sustainable innovation and a greener future for textiles, as outlined in the EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles published in 2022.
“The beauty of a project like CELLFIL is that we can test the [lyocell filament yarn] properties across the entire value chain and shift boundaries to improve characteristics for different types of applications,” Pichler said.
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