The yarn-spinning line is intended for product development and will be located in Guimarães, Portugal at Tearfil's facilities.
Tearfil will also be responsible for the yarn-spinning line's operations, and Spinnova will use a part of the line capacity for its product development.
Spinnova says the rationale behind the yarn-spinning line is to provide research and development into using Spinnova's fibre in commercial-scale yarn production and to streamline development work with industry partners.
Spinnova says it will benefit from the extensive industry know-how and from the proximity of Europe’s most significant textile industry hub in Portugal. It believes this will improve Spinnova’s access to global textile markets.
The technology delivery and installations at Tearfil's premises are expected to take place in the fall of 2023 with the spinning line intended to be operational by the end of the year.
In 2021, Spinnova established an R&D yarn-spinning line in Jyväskylä, Finland. The decision to change the location was made during the feasibility planning and discussions with potential partners. This change in location and operational model is expected to slightly decrease capital expenditure and lead to lower operational expenses.
Spinnova's interim CEO Ben Selby explains: "We are very pleased to have agreed on a cooperation model with Tearfil where we are able to benefit from Tearfil's decades of experience and expertise in yarn-spinning. The location in Portugal speeds up our product development work and gives us the opportunity to cooperate on development with key players in the industry."
Maria de Belém Machado, CEO at Tearfil, adds the Portuguese company was confident of this partnership scaling up the impact further to develop innovative textile materials.
Spinnova will also be leveraging Swiss-based company Rieter's technology for its new spinning mill line. Reiter already has a significant contribution in yarn development for Spinnova blends and spinning with various spinning techniques.
