Caima to invest €40 million in new biomass energy plant

  • Lusa
  • 25 January 2022

Caima, Altri Group's biorefinery, will invest €40 million in the construction of a biomass furnace. The new plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Caima, which produces cellulose fibres for the textile industry, will invest €40 million in the construction of a biomass furnace and abandon fossil fuels in its entire production process, it was announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, Caima, Altri Group’s biorefinery, states that with this investment it intends to “ensure total energy autonomy from exclusively renewable sources, thus becoming the first Iberian company in its sector to achieve this historic milestone.”

“This goal will be materialised in the realisation of the ‘Caima Go Green’ project and foresees that the new biomass power plant will operate alongside the existing GreenVolt power plant, replacing – with increased capacity – the existing biomass boiler,” the company adds.

Caima expects the new plant to be completed by the end of 2024, subject to the appropriate regulatory approvals.

The energy produced in the new biomass plant from forest waste will meet all the thermal energy needs of the factory located in Constância, and in particular of new innovation projects, also making possible the production of added value specialities.

The new plant will also increase electricity production capacity, allowing more green energy to be injected into the grid, the company adds.

The boiler will now operate without the use of fossil fuels, promoting the use of energy from renewable sources, but also the collection and recovery of industrial gas emissions.

José de Pina, CEO of Altri, says that “this is an important step for Caima, not only because it allows a strengthening of cellulose fibre production and new innovation projects, but mainly for the investment in a unit that will be totally green, generating energy for the entire unit and the network”.