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SaXcell And Birla Cellulose Join Hands For Recycled Cellulosic Fibre Production To Accelerate Circularity

• By  Textile Excellence
• November 01, 2023

Textile recycling innovator SaXcell and Birla Cellulose has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the expansion of collaboration between the two companies for production of recycled man-made cellulosic fibres.

SaXcell's textile waste pulping technology combined with Birla's advanced wet spinning expertise results in high quality sustainable "SaXcell" recycled fibres serving the circular textile needs of customers at commercial scale. Birla Cellulose, a part of Aditya Birla Group, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of man-made cellulosic fibre.

Commenting on the development, Erik van der Weerd, CEO SaXcell, emphasised that this collaboration fits SaXcell’s vision to set up a robust circular textile supply chain based on partnership and mutual commitment. “To address today’s social and environmental challenges of the textile industry, global collaboration is imperative. We need to facilitate a change from a linear to a circular economy and we need to do it now. SaXcell’s and Birla’s combined innovation force and production power offer a great opportunity to create real impact” he explains.

Commenting on the collaboration and on circularity and sustainability aspects of textile production, Dr. Aspi Patel, Chief Technology Officer, Aditya Birla Group and Birla Cellulose, said, “Birla Cellulose is strongly committed to support innovators for expanding circular fibre offerings in the textile and non-woven value chain. We have been exploring innovative business models and partnerships, this collaboration is one such initiative, where we aim to help SaXcell leapfrog from pilot to commercial demonstration scale. Such partnerships will play an increasingly important role in accelerating circularity in global textile value chain.”

SaXcell B.V. is an innovative technology development company that recycles used textiles into feedstock for making new and sustainable man-made cellulosic fibres. Creating the new fibres requires less water, land and chemicals. A team of researchers from Saxion University of Applied Science in Enschede started with SaXcell B.V. in 2015. After extensively testing and improving the technology, a pilot factory was successfully built in 2020. SaXcell aims to build a small scale production plant in Enschede, The Netherlands by 2024.

Birla Cellulose is a leading sustainability-focused Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) producer that operates 12 sites for pulp and fibre manufacturing across the globe. Birla Cellulose actively collaborates with upstream and downstream textile producers and partners to create an inclusive impact on the sustainability of textile & apparel value chain.

To address today’s social and environmental challenges of the textile industry, global collaboration is imperative. We need to facilitate a change from a linear to a circular economy and we need to do it now. SaXcell’s and Birla’s combined innovation force and production power offer a great opportunity to create real impact