Nanjing – The Lenzing Group, is continuing to expand its global clean electricity portfolio by gradually transitioning to green energy at its production site in Nanjing, China.

The transition will enable its Chinese subsidiary Lenzing Nanjing Fibers to use electricity derived solely from renewable sources from 2023 onwards and reduce the site’s carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes annually. Lenzing only recently announced the transition to green electricity at its Indonesian production facility.

In 2019, Lenzing became the first fiber producer to set a target of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2050. This carbon reduction target has been recognized by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Thanks to this move, the Chinese site will exclusively produce eco-friendly specialty fibres.

“Demand for our wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers is constantly rising. We see enormous growth potential, especially in Asia. Thanks to our investments in China and other Lenzing sites around the world, we will be better positioned to meet this growing demand in future. At the same time, we are continuing to make considerable progress towards achieving a carbon-free future and becoming a champion of circularity,” comments Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer for Fiber at Lenzing.

Speciality fibers are now Lenzing’s key strength. The company aims to generate more than 75 per cent of its fibre revenue from the wood-based, biodegradable specialty fibers business under the Tencel, Lenzing, Ecovero and Veocel brands by 2024. With the launch of the lyocell plant in Thailand in March 2022 and the investments in existing production sites in China and Indonesia, the share of speciality fibres in Lenzing’s fiber revenue is set to exceed the 75 per cent target by a significant margin as early as 2023.