Ence has been provisionally selected to receive Euro 24.7 million from Spain's Industrial Decarbonization PERTE for its bleached recycled fiber bioplant project in As Pontes, A Coruña. The funding falls under Line 4 of the program, which is led by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, according to Ence.
The As Pontes facility will be a world pioneer in producing bleached recycled fiber from recovered paper and cardboard, making it the first plant in Europe to apply totally chlorine free bleaching technology to recycled fibers. The project, which received its Integrated Environmental Authorization from the regional government of Galicia in August, is designed for energy self-sufficiency using renewable energy generated from by-products of the local forestry industry. It is located on the industrial grounds of the former As Pontes coal-fired power plant.
Ence is also advancing Regatex, a pilot textile recycling plant in collaboration with Swedish startup Sharetex. The initiative has produced recycled cellulose from polycotton, a material considered notoriously difficult to recycle.
Ence is a leading European producer of eucalyptus pulp, with a combined annual capacity of 1.2 million tons.
