With 15 research institutions and industry partners from eight countries, including world-renowned companies like Adidas and academic partners like Aalto University, the European Union (EU) Horizon Europe project CELLFIL will develop the sustainable production and diversified use of lyocell yarns and textiles made from them. Bio-based and ecologically produced, lyocell is an environmentally friendly alternative to the synthetic fossil yarns that currently dominate the textile industry.
Textile consumption is a major burden on natural resources, reduces the availability of raw materials and generates greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to promote the circular economy in Europe and globally, the textile and clothing industry needs to undergo a major transformation. The project “Cellulose Lyocell Fibres as a Scalable Solution for Circular Textile Production” (CELLFIL) aims to promote sustainability and circularity in the textile industry by setting a new standard for green innovation in Europe.
Adidas, Aalto University, ContiTech Deutschland, Filati Miroslaw Kubiak Spolka Komandytowa Akcyjna, Heberlein, Hochschule Niederrhein, Orange Fiber, Riga Technical University, Maglificio Ripa, Martur Sunger, Nordfels, Ratti Luino and Quantis have formed a consortium to implement the projects, coordinated by the RTDS Association, the leading non-profit organisation in Austria supporting European research and innovation activities, and the technical coordinator is the innovative Austrian company Lenzing Group. The project has attracted €6.8 million from the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Lenzing Group, a leader in cellulose fibre textiles, has developed a process for producing lyocell yarns and brought it to market for the first time in small volumes in 2017. However, production and market acceptance are still at an early stage.
The work will be carried out in distinctly different market segments: functional clothing, automotive and technical textiles. Under the leadership of Dāboliņa, several sustainable textile prototypes will be developed, their performance and longevity evaluated. A roadmap for the design and development of sustainable products with the same or better performance as their synthetic counterparts, and with consumer-friendly and attractive features, is also planned.
To raise awareness of sustainable textiles among the public, the industry and current and future designers, an international design competition will also be organised involving art and design students from the sector. The competition will use the materials developed and tested in the project.
“We are still at the very early stages of bringing lyocell filament to industrial scale. Many aspects, such as the availability of lyocell yarns in the supply chain and technological adaptations to improve the properties of cellulosic yarns and adapt production processes, need to be addressed to transform the textile industry capabilities that are currently more suited to polyester yarns,” says Markus Pichler, product and process development expert for lyocell fibres at Lenzing Group and CELLFIL technical coordinator, highlighting the project’s potential.
