Renewcell selects Valmet as the main equipment supplier for Sundsvall textile recycling plant in Sweden

Renewcell and Valmet have signed a contract for Valmet to deliver the main equipment for Renewcell’s planned 60,000 metric tonne capacity textile recycling plant at Ortviken industrial site in Sundsvall, Sweden. This is a major milestone in the establishment of the first of its kind commercial scale textile recycling plant in the world. Renewcell’s new Ortviken plant is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2022.

The value of the order is around EUR 25 million. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received of the first quarter 2021.

“We have gone through a rigorous selection process and are confident that Valmet is the best possible long-term partner to Renewcell on our mission to change the global fashion industry. With a trusted supplier like Valmet providing the core equipment, we reduce project risk and gain a committed partner with industry-leading expertise. We look forward to working closely with Valmet to put together a top-of-the-line textile recycling plant concept that is ready to be rolled out not just at Ortviken but worldwide,” comments Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell.

“Sustainable textile recycling is well aligned with Valmet’s mission of converting renewable resources into sustainable results. I’m very proud that Renewcell selected Valmet as the key supplier for this groundbreaking plant. Our teams have been working well together in developing these solutions and I’m delighted to see this outcome. This will be an important project and a key reference within this new business area, and we look forward to a continued cooperation with Renewcell,” says Bertel Karlstedt, President, Pulp and Energy business line, Valmet.

First industrial scale textile-to-pulp plant delivery

Through its patented process, Renewcell is able to upcycle cellulosic textile waste, such as cotton and viscose clothes, transforming it into a dissolving pulp product called Circulose®, produced from 100% recycled textiles. In 2018 Renewcell opened a demonstration plant in Kristinehamn, Sweden, which can produce up to 4,500 tonnes of Circulose® per year. The new Ortviken plant will have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year with a possibility to increase the capacity in the future.

“By replacing virgin textile fibers like cotton with fibers produced from Circulose®, fashion brands can reduce the climate and environmental impact caused by raw material extraction and fashion waste generation significantly. We have been recognized for our work to make fashion more sustainable. Most recently, Circulose® was included as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions 2020,” Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell tells.

“This project is an excellent example of how we can utilize Valmet’s wide expertise in bio, pulp and paper technology in textile recycling. In a project like this Valmet is not only a technology provider, but this is a joint journey. During the past year we have worked together to finetune the technology for textile recycling. We have utilized Valmet’s pilot machines at our Swedish and Finnish R&D centers to do test runs in turning recycled textile raw material into dissolving pulp sheets,” explains Rickard Andersson, Vice President, Fiber Processing business unit, Valmet.   

Valmet will deliver the main equipment to Renewcell's recycling plant. Renewcell is transforming cotton and viscose clothes into a dissolving pulp product, produced from 100% recycled textiles. Photo: Alexander Donka

Technical information about the order

Valmet will supply process equipment for stock preparation, bleaching and drying commonly used in large scale state-of-the-art dissolving pulp plants tailored for this project. Valmet’s delivery includes machine equipment installation, commissioning and technical support. Significant part of the technology is designed and produced in Sundsvall, Sweden and in Tampere and Jyväskylä, Finland. The pulp drying and baling part is second-hand equipment originally delivered by Valmet to another customer and now being dismantled in France and shipped to Sweden with needed technical support and installation from Valmet at Renewcell site.

Information about the customer Renewcell

Renewcell was founded by innovators from Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2012. The company provides an alternative raw material for textile production that replaces resource intensive material such as cotton or petroleum-based materials such as polyester. Renewcell is a publicly traded company listed on Nasdaq First North Premier.

VALMET
Corporate Communications

For further information, please contact:
Rickard Andersson, Vice President, Fiber Processing, Pulp and Energy, Valmet, tel. +46 70 305 5722
Ari Saario, Vice President, Strategy and R&D, Pulp and Energy, Valmet, tel. +358 50 590 2046

Press images
https://www.renewcell.com/en/image-bank/

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2019 were approximately EUR 3.5 billion. Our 14,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.

Read more www.valmet.com , www.twitter.com/valmetglobal

Processing of personal data