In an investment of 111.5 million euros, the Lusitano Project was born in Famalicão and involves 17 partners in a commitment to sustainable and energy solutions to revolutionise the textile sector.
Finding sustainable textile solutions, including yarns, fabrics and garments, based on natural fibres and recycled fibres from end-of-life garments. As well as energy and resource management solutions for the sector, and intelligent and automated systems for ITV. These are the objectives of the Lusitano Project, in an investment of 111.5 million euros that includes a Biomass Centre, inaugurated this Friday, in Riopele, in Vila Nova dae Famalicão.
As part of the Mobilising Agenda for Business Innovation in the Textile and Clothing Industry in Portugal, led by Nau Verde, the Lusitano Project involves 17 partners, of which 13 are companies, such as textile Riopele, Calvelex, Polopique and Paulo dae Oliveira. In this consortium, Vanguarda, Polywasser and VentilAQUA appear as technological partners. The universities of Minho and Beira Interior, Instituto Superior Técnico, Associação Fibrenamics – Institute of Innovation in Fibrous and Compositae Materials, INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), CENIT – Centro Associativo dae Informação Têxtil, FF, are also part of the consortium. – Fábrica do Futuro da Fashion and Design Association.
“The Lusitano project will generate an unquestionable contribution to the growth of the sector, a socioeconomic impact, improving the population’s qualifications and regional development.” – César Araújo, Calvelex.
As part of this project, the Biomass plant was inaugurated this Friday, in Riopele, in a commitment to decarbonisation, resulting from an investment of four million euros. According to César Araújo, from the management of Calvelex – Indústria dae Confecções, “The Lusitano project can make a decisive contribution to overcoming the current crisis and embracing a much more ambitious, digital and sustainable future”.
After a visit to the Riopele biomass plant, which should start producing steam in the first quarter of this year, to allow for a 65% reduction in natural gas consumption, Prime Minister António Costa considered it an asset for the country. “We all realise, due to the brutal rise in the price of natural gas [resulting from the war in Ukraine], how essential it is to move towards other forms of energy production”, underlined the prime minister who visited Riopele within the scope of the PRR in Motion itinerary and the Innovation Mobilising Agendas.
The Lusitano project provides for research and development, technological and energy measures, as well as solutions for resource management and environmental challenges. “The Lusitano project will generate an unquestionable contribution to the growth of the sector, a socioeconomic impact, improvement of the population’s qualifications and regional development”, emphasised César Araújo.
For Rui Freitas, from Nau Verde, “the project proposes to have a transforming effect on the textile sector”, referring that the “mobilising agenda arises in a challenging context in the sector”.
“The project proposes to have a transforming effect on the textile sector.” – Rui Freitas, Nau Verde.
The prime minister, on the other hand, considered the mobilising agenda “Projeto Lusitano” an opportunity for the industry to be even more “competitive, prosperous, job-generating and ever-increasing income for those who work in this entire sector”. Furthermore, Costa highlighted: “Technical textiles are increasingly important, because it is the added value that innovation has been able to bring to this industry that today allows our industry to be competitive, prosperous, job-generating and to be generating more and more jobs.”
For Costa, the energy transition and investment in digital are “crucial challenges” for the future of the national industry.
The prime minister also highlighted the competitive advantages of Portugal, its geographical position, the fact that it is “one of the safest countries in the world”, the know-how accumulated over centuries, the qualified workforce and the advantage of being “at the forefront” of the energy transition. And he also highlighted the fact that the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR ) is an opportunity for the country to grow and assert itself as an industrial production power in Europe.
“It is produced in a different way and different products. Innovation allows the industry to be competitive and generate jobs and greater income for those who work in this sector”, stressed Costa, adding that “this process of constituting these agendas , which today have gone from 51 to 53 — and which I am sure will be a great exercise in learning how to do things differently — it is the best sowing that we can leave for after 2026″.
Finally, Costa left a warning: “Probably we will never have a new PRR with this dimension again . Therefore, what we have to do here is not more of the same, but different. It is this execution that needs to be continued”.
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