ENCE Energía y Celulosa S A : and the Swedish start-up ShareTex sign an MOU to build a pilot textile recycling plant in As Pontes

Ence - Energía y Celulosa and the Swedish start-up ShareTex have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the aim of building a pilot textile waste recycling plant in As Pontes, in which ShareTex's recycling technology will be verified.

This initiative is part of the recycling bioplant project that Ence will launch in the A Coruña town of As Pontes. An installation that will not use wood, but recovered fibers; It will be self-sufficient in renewable energy and will have minimal water consumption, in line with the Ence Group's commitment to minimizing natural resources. Likewise, this bioplant will be located on industrial land - the one occupied by the thermal power plant -, so that it will not affect natural spaces or habitats.

The recovered textile fiber recycling project will use a new technology, already tested on a laboratory scale, which offers clear advantages over other chemical recycling technologies that are also currently under development, to solve the problem of managing this type of waste. sustainable way.

Among the main advantages of this new technology is the processing capacity of poly-cotton textiles, thus expanding the range of textiles that can be recycled. Likewise, this new technology does not require drastic pressure or temperature conditions, nor does it use toxic solvents.

The process will use post-consumer waste collected in the region, as well as waste from the mechanical textile recycling process, to give new life to these materials. As a result, textile fibers can be obtained that will be integrated back into the textile value chain or into products with high added value.

Ence, with other actors in Galicia, is also in the process of establishing a consortium to promote R&D&i in the recycling of this type of waste. Thus, from As Pontes, Ence will promote research and innovative development of alternative or complementary processes in this value chain, promoting the circular economy from and for Galicia.

Through this cutting-edge project, the company demonstrates its firm commitment to sustainability and Galicia. Likewise, the project represents the first step in the scaling and industrialization of the technology developed by ShareTex, marking an important milestone in the verification and commercialization of cutting-edge research in the field of textile recycling.