- Key breakthrough in the industry. Regatex represents a milestone in the textile industry by promoting the circular economy through the extraction of recycled cellulose from polycotton.
Ence is making steady progress in the project it is developing in As Pontes (A Coruña). The company, hand in hand with its Swedish strategic ally, the startup Sharetex, has presented internationally sustainable textile recycling project, Regatex, to be developed in this town of A Coruña.
Specifically, they have done so at the conference on cellulose fibres that has been held in Cologne (Germany), a global reference event that has had more than 200 participants from 23 countries. In this framework, the representatives of both companies presented the new applications of cellulose fibres in textiles, with special emphasis on innovative solutions and the most recent advances in the recycling of these materials.
Project milestones
Ence and Sharetex sealed their collaboration agreement in the Regatex initiative in June 2024. As a result of this alliance, they have obtained, for the first time, recycled cellulose from polycotton. In addition, they have successfully carried out the first textile recycling tests using an innovative technology that does not require high pressure, temperature or the use of toxic solvents.
This project represents a key advance in the textile industry, as it seeks to promote the circular economy through the extraction of recycled cellulose from polycotton, a material previously difficult to recycle efficiently.
Galician Consortium for the Recycling of Post-consumer Textiles
The results obtained from the technical point of view are in addition to the recent creation of the Galician Consortium for Post-consumer Textiles, whose objective is to develop an R&D&I platform for the innovative recycling of post-consumer textile waste, thus contributing to the fulfilment of the European Union’s environmental objectives and promoting a greater recycling capacity in Galicia and throughout Spain.
As Pontes, a pioneering initiative in circular economy
The As Pontes project promoted by Ence in this town in A Coruña is a pioneering initiative in circular economy that combines the recovery of paper and textile fibres, renewable energy production and CO₂ capture, with a significant impact on employment and sustainability.
Ence will invest up to 355 million euros in the three phases of this project, which will generate around 1,250 jobs. The first will involve the implementation of a recovered fibre plant which includes the pilot plant for the recovery of textile fibres; the second includes a cogeneration plant of 150 MW of thermal power and about 50 MW of electrical power and the third, a tissue plant.
The Regatex project, which focuses on the pilot plant for the recovery of textile fibres in As Pontes, will make a significant contribution to the circular bioeconomy through the creation of an innovative textile recycling system with different compositions that until now could not be reused.
