LENZING(TM) Builds a Strong Foundation and Expands Industry Engagement for Driving Greater Sustainability Across Industrial Sectors

LENZING, Austria, Dec. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a year of "many firsts" for LENZINGtm, as it made debuts across industries with LENZINGtm offerings and collaborations with partners. These are all significant milestones for Lenzing on the journey to a sustainable future.

The industry-wide collaborations and initiatives have always been great opportunities for LENZINGtm in the past year. While it is encouraging to see more involvement and support from the industry partners in the automotive and biorefinery sectors, it is also very important to engage the up-and-coming players who will play a key role in driving a sustainable future. To this end, for the first time, Lenzing connected with the textile and fiber startup community, exploring cooperation opportunities with many energetic start-ups.

In addition to the continued effort to strengthen industry engagement, Lenzing never stops in developing innovative and sustainable solutions. As plastic pollution continues to be a pressing concern and tops the agenda of the environmental discussions worldwide, there is an urgent need to tackle this issue. The launch of its new aquatic farming solutions, mussel nets made of wood-based LENZINGtm branded lyocell fibers, and the award-winning Packnatur® reusable cellulose bag contribute to the reduction of the annual plastic quantity in marine environment.

It has been an exciting and fruitful year to Lenzing as it has built a strong foundation for more sustainable initiatives and collaborations in 2020. With the new year lying ahead, more changes towards sustainability, and close collaborations are expected to come, towards the goal of driving a more eco-conscious and responsible industry.

Here is an overview of the latest LENZINGtm brand stories:

Save underwater creatures with new mussel nets

Recognizing the importance of cultivating marine cultures, Lenzing unveiled a new botanic solution for marine application at the Techtextil Frankurt Fair 2019, which uses wood-based LENZINGtm branded lyocell fibers for the construction of ropes and nets, in particular for aquatic farming.

Lenzing unveils plan to increase production capacity of LENZINGtm fibers in the Grimsby Factory 

To address the increasing demand for sustainable fibers, a capital expenditure project is underway at the Lenzing Fibers Grimsby factory in the UK, which aims to triple and improve production capabilities for LENZINGtm Lyocell Shortcut fibers. The project marks a great step in Lenzing's commitment to enhancing product offerings of the LENZINGtm brand and driving greater adoption of greater market sustainable fiber.

Breaking down plastic packaging alternatives with Bernard Alowonou

Plastic packaging is prevalent in thousands of single-use items. Nonetheless, the vast amount of plastic waste has turned out be one of the world's worst source of pollution to. Bernard Alowonou, Vice President, Global Business Management New Business Areas at Lenzing Group, shares more on how Lenzing's sustainable solutions help tackle the current plastic problem with packaging.

Lenzing joins Soteria Battery Innovation Group to enable safer low-carbon energy storage solutions

Although many may not be aware, the separator material used in energy storage devices plays an important role to ensure safety by preventing contact between the electrodes within the cells whilst permitting the flow of charged ions. Lenzing has joined the Soteria Battery Innovation Group (BIG), an industrial consortium with a mission to eliminate dangerous cell failures in lithium ion batteries whilst enabling safer low-carbon energy storage solutions.

Lenzing announces partnerships with Covestro and Trans-Textil GmbH

Lenzing announced new collaborations with Covestro and Trans-Textil GmbH to usher in variety of coated fabric applications using LENZINGtm fibers, providing an outstanding example of "Sustainability through Innovation" or, for short: "Sustainnovation."

Lenzing meets the textile and fiber startup community at 1st Dornbirn-GFC STARTUPDAYS 

For the first time, Lenzing connected with the textile and fiber startup community at 1st Dornbirn-GFC STARTUPDAYS. Lenzing participated in this event as one of the leading sponsors, aiming to create more awareness of sustainable fibers within the community while simultaneously exploring collaborations.

The future of car interiors -- It Could Be Made from Wood

The industry is showing signs of a move away from harmful synthetics and animal-based fibers. Recycled textiles and biodegradable plant-based interiors are now used as an option in a wide variety of new vehicles' interiors, while minimizing the environmental harm associated with these products.

The return of plant-based food preservatives

Studies have found that plant-based food preservatives are in fact more effective in keeping food fresher for longer^[1] in addition to being eco-friendly, all without the added health risks. Hence, industry stakeholders are now in favor to replace traditional acetic acid with bio-based acetic acid - a biorefinery product of wood pulp production.