Award for lyocell made from bacterial cellulose

The bacteria-based cellulose fiber Nullarbor was awarded as the Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year 2023 at the Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023, which was held in Cologne/Germany, on March 8-9, 2023.
The annual conference is organized by nova-Institute GmbH, Hürth/Germany, and is a meeting point for the global cellulose fiber industry. 42 international speakers from 12 countries presented current market insights and trends and demonstrated the innovation potential of cellulose fibers. More than 220 participants from 30 countries took advantage of on-site networking opportunities. Leading international experts presented new technologies for recycling cellulose-rich raw materials and innovative circular economy practices in textiles, packaging and hygiene, which were discussed with the help of active audience participation in 7 panel discussions.
At the end of the first conference day, participants voted for the Cellulose Fibre Innovation of the Year Award:

1^st place: Nullarbor – Nanollose and Birla Cellulose  
In 2020, Nanollose Ltd., Nedlands/Australia, and Birla Cellulose, Mumbai/India, started a journey to develop and commercialize tree-free lyocell from bacterial cellulose, called Nullarbor. The name derives from the Latin “nulla arbor” which means “no trees”. Initial lab research at both ends led to the joint patent application “production of high-tenacity lyocell fibers made from bacterial cellulose”.
Nullarbor is significantly stronger than lyocell made from wood-based pulp; even adding small amounts of bacterial cellulose to wood pulp increases the fiber toughness. In 2022, the first pilot batch of 260 kg was produced with 20% bacterial pulp share. Several high-quality fabrics and garments were produced with this fiber. The collaboration between Nanollose and Birla Cellulose now focuses on increasing the production scale and amount of bacterial pulp in the fiber.

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2^nd place: Circulose – makes fashion circular – Renewcell (SE)
Circulose made by Renewcell AB, Stockholm/Sweden, is a branded dissolving pulp made from 100% textile waste, like worn-out clothes and production scraps. It provides a unique material for fashion that is 100% recycled, recyclable, biodegradable, and of virgin-equivalent quality. It is used by fiber producers to make staple fiber or filaments like viscose, lyocell, modal, acetate or other types of man-made cellulosic fibers. In 2022, Renewcell, opened the world’s first textile-to-textile chemical recycling plant in Sundsvall, Sweden – Renewcell 1. The plant is expected to reach a capacity of 120,000 tons/year.

3^rd place: Vybrana – The new generation banana fiber – Gencrest Bio Products (IN)
Vybrana is a sustainable cellulosic fiber of Gencrest Bio Products Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai/India, upcycled from agrowaste. Raw fibers are extracted from the banana stem at the end of the plant lifecycle. The biomass waste is then treated by the Gencrest patented Fiberzyme technology. Here, cocktail enzyme formulations remove the high lignin content and other impurities and help fiber fibrillation. The company's proprietary cottonization process provides fine, spinnable cellulose staple fibers suitable for blending with other staple fibers and can be spun on any conventional spinning systems giving yarns sustainable apparel. Vybrana is produced without the use of heavy chemicals and minimized water consumption and in a waste-free process where balance biomass is converted to bio stimulants Agrosatva and bio-based fertilizers and organic manure.

Nullarbor, Circulose = registered trademark