Lisbon, July 23, 2025 (Lusa) - Altri has completed the acquisition of 58.7% of Swiss sustainable textiles company AeoniQ, which plans to build an industrial facility in Constância, with HeiQ Materials AG, Boss and MAS Holdings remaining as co-investors, it was announced on Wednesday.

According to Wikipedia, Altri SGPS SA is a Portuguese industrial conglomerate headquartered in Porto. The group's main companies operate in wood pulp production, cultivation of forests for the timber and paper industry and co-generation of energy, including energy production from renewable resources.

In a statement, Altri said that the investment includes a capital increase that "will enable AeoniQ to develop commercial-scale production capacity, reinforcing its strategic vision of diversification into high-value, low-environmental-impact cellulose applications".

The acquisition will enable the development of the world's first AeoniQ industrial plant, which will be built at Altri's fibre factory in Caima, Constância. Construction is scheduled to start in 2026, with an initial capacity of 1,750 tonnes per year.

As announced earlier this month, the investment in the project amounts to €90 million.

"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," according to today's press release.

According to the statement, AeoniQ "will benefit from the vertical integration of eucalyptus fibre 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, climate-positive cellulose filament 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," it says.

Quoted in the press release, Altri Group CEO 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 various stakeholders".

PD // JNM 

Lusa/fim