Altri completes purchase of 58.7% of sustainable textiles company AeoniQ
In a statement, Altri said that the investment includes a capital increase that "will allow AeoniQ to develop its commercial-scale production capacity, reinforcing its strategic vision of diversification into high-value cellulosic applications with low environmental impact."
The acquisition will enable the development of the world's first AeoniQ industrial unit, which will be built at Altri's fibre plant in Caima, Constância, and is scheduled to start up in 2026 with an initial capacity of 1,750 tons per year. According to reports earlier this month, the investment in the project amounts to 90 million euros.
"In addition to the existing pilot lines in Austria, a pre-industrial unit will be launched in Portugal in early 2026 to accelerate prototypes, partnerships with brands, and capsule collections," read the statement released on Wednesday.
The business announced that AeoniQ "will benefit from the vertical integration of eucalyptus fib up to the finished yarn, with the subsequent incorporation of recycled raw materials such as cotton textile waste, agricultural waste, and bacterial cellulose derived from food waste."
AeoniQ is a Swiss cleantech spin-off of HeiQ Materials AG, which has developed "the world's first biodegradable cellulosic filament with a positive climate impact, designed to replace polyester and nylon."
"The AeoniQ platform is set to transform the global textile industry by offering a fully circular, plastic-free alternative that replicates the performance of synthetic fibres—without their environmental impacts," said the business.
Quoted in the statement, the CEO of the Altri group, José Soares de Pina, said that this acquisition, in addition to diversifying the company's operations, strengthens its presence in the sustainable textile fibres sector, "opening up new avenues of value creation for the group's different stakeholders."
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