With the recent recall of the pellet crisis, Galicia is facing a new debate with political, economic and environmental consequences. And this time, thanks to an unlikely hero: lyocell, a semi-synthetic fiber used in the textile industry. Its proponents present it as a sustainable material, but neither this argument nor its promise to create thousands of jobs and million-dollar investment has prevented plans to build a large factory dedicated to its production in Lugo from unleashing a bitter (and loud) attack. argument. . Reason: There are those who think that the factory will be an “environmental bomb”.

The million-dollar question at this point is… Why is a part of the Galician society and political circles skeptical of a project that will allow assembling 3% of the world’s sustainable textile fiber production, as claimed by those responsible?

A mega factory in Lugo. This is what the Portuguese company Altri plans to build in the town of Palas de Rei, a town of more than 3,300 residents in the province of Lugo. And the label “mega factory” is justified in this case: the initial investment will amount to approximately 900 million euros, and the complex will create 2,500 jobs, between direct (500) and indirect (2,000), in addition to 4,000 during the works. It also plans to produce 200,000 tonnes of lyocell, “an artificial and ecological fabric made from wood pulp”, every year.

In January 2023, José Pina, general manager of Altri, shared a telling piece of information to illustrate the goal of the Lugo project: “The future factory is expected to be responsible for approximately 3% of global textile fiber production in a sustainable manner, which is equivalent to the introduction of 200,000 tons of material per year. The infrastructure began to attract attention as the largest of its kind in Europe.More recently, at the end of 2022, the company managed to get Xunta to declare the factory as a “strategic industrial project” for the region, a label that includes, among other things, the process It was a label that accelerated.

Click on the image to go to the tweet.

So what will it produce? This is one of the main points of the discussion. As part of the processing, just a month ago the Official Gazette of Galicia (DOG) published detailed data on the project, presenting itself as a “cellulose-based textile fiber” complex, reflecting the industrial power of the future plant. There are two figures that are particularly questionable. In describing its activities, its supporters state that a final production capacity of 400,000 tons of cellulose and 200,000 tons of lyocell fabric per year will be achieved.

Moreover, the production of this last semi-synthetic fiber will be minimal in the first phase of the facility, where it is estimated that 250,000 tons of cellulose and 60,000 tons of lyocell will be produced annually. To achieve these operating volumes, those responsible estimate that they will initially need approximately 1.2 million cubic meters of eucalyptus wood each year.

“It is actually a macrocellulose”. With these data, the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) warned about the risks of a project that does not fully correspond to the one proposed in 2022, when Xunta received its approval. Recently, its representative, Rosana Pérez, said that the regional manager regretted that he had once promised “a textile fiber factory”, whereas “according to the company itself, it was actually a macrocellulose factory.” It has therefore put forward its intention to seek “full disclosures” to clarify what the actual impact of the Altri plant will be on both the Ulla River and the Arousa Estuary.

“This is a new scam that could be the final blow for an estuary that is already in the process of continuous loss of productivity and loss of jobs in the fisheries, mussels and shellfish sector,” Pérez emphasizes, before recalling that Arousa has been in Arousa for three years. 200 shellfish harvesters were lost in the Golden Horn. Their concerns stem from another information in the file regarding the facility to be established: It is envisaged to collect 46,000 cubic meters of water per day in the Portodemouros reservoir.

Company chart for water use.

Opinion section. Although it is a project currently in the works, the Palas de Rey factory can already boast a history full of surprises. The beginning couldn’t have been better. In February 2022, the Galician Parliament approved en bloc, with votes in favor of PSdeG, BNG and PPdeG, a PP initiative aimed precisely at supporting the factory in the hope that it can attract New Generation community funds.

This unanimity has since completely broken down, both in Parliament, at institutional level, and on the street itself: Lugo County Council has positioned itself against it, as has Greenpeace, which has not mentioned a sustainable textile fiber mill. From a “huge pulp mill” that could swallow “more than 46 million liters of water, the size of the province of Lugo”. Different environmental and neighborhood groups in the society also expressed their concerns because they did not directly express their rejection of the project.

“Fibers yes, cellulose no”. At the heart of the dispute is the company’s approach. What exactly will it do and what impact will it have on the environment and other activities such as fishing? Socialist José Tomé, president of the Lugo Provincial Council since 2019, recently put it very clearly: “Clean industry yes, textile fibers yes, cellulose no. We do not want a scam.”

Denials or doubts are not unanimous, of course. The CCOO union called for “sanity and dialogue” when discussing a facility that it does not view in a bad light, and PP insists that it is a “circular economy project” and guarantees that it must comply with “all environmental and technical regulations”.

So what do his supporters say? Behind the project is Greenfiber, a company backed by the Portuguese multinational, which logically sees how progress in the procedure is marked by controversy. The company recently even suspended informational meetings with neighbors, considering it an “aggressive attitude.” He recently launched an informative website to clarify doubts about his initiative and what he plans to do at the Palas de Rei; This website has assured that the future Lugo mill will not produce cellulose for paper, but will instead extract cellulose from wood. Used in textiles or soluble fibres.

“Two end products will be produced from the eucalyptus tree, both cellulosic-based and therefore biodegradable. One of these will be soluble fibers intended for textile applications, which will be sold exclusively to industries in the textile sector and are not suitable for the ‘usual’ paper industries. Another, the same “The first product will be lyocell, which is a cellulosic-based textile fiber and will be produced in the same facility using direct raw material,” he insists.

Focus on Lyocell. Greenfiber insists on highlighting its future capacity to produce lyocell, “a very attractive sustainable fabric” with 100% biodegradable textile fibers that do not use chlorine or toxic chemical solvents in their production and also leave a minimal carbon footprint.

“The factory is designed to produce a maximum of 400,000 tonnes per year of soluble fibers, which are the raw material for textile applications, of which 200,000 tonnes will be allocated directly to the production of Lyocell and/or other textile fibers. The goal is that in the future all soluble fibers can be integrated into the production of lyocell,” adds the company.

There are studies estimating that the global lyocell fabric market will be worth $543.4 million in 2022 and could reach $778.1 million by 2030, with a Compound Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.3%. Although it was registered 40 years ago, it is often presented as a new sustainable material for the industry.

environmental footprint. His statements did not prevent some doubts from arising. Today, elDiario.es states that Greenfiber has acknowledged on its recently launched website that its activity will have a certain environmental impact on its surroundings. More specifically, the company says the plant is designed to “non-consume” up to 46,000 m3 per day and can change the temperature of the liquid it returns to the river. “As prescribed by law, the process ensures that the water returning to the river, when mixed with the natural flow, will not cause a change in its temperature by more than 3°, above or below.”

The company also claims that its presence in Lugo will not help increase eucalyptus in Galicia, as there is no need to increase plantations.

Pictures | Altri and Greenfiber

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