The Glucanes4Tex project aims to prepare the industrialization of a newly developed sustainable type of fibre based on polysaccharides, synonym: glucan, and to enable the establishment of a production site with more than 50,000 tons of glucan fibres per year in the former Rhenish Mining Area following the project. Such a production site would create several hundred jobs in the region. The former Rhenish Mining Area offers all the prerequisites for this, as the value chain from raw material to finished product can be covered by regional companies.
The glucan polymer is made from a by-product of sugar production from sugar beet. Polymer and fiber production is therefore ideally linked to existing sugar refineries, thus increasing the added value of sugar production and eliminating transport routes. In addition, the existing infrastructure can also be used.
The project's contribution to the funding policy objectives is therefore the creation of new jobs in the former Rhenish Mining Area by increasing the added value in sugar production. As a bio-based and sustainable material, the glucan fibers produced offer great potential for use in numerous textile applications.
