#Recycling / Circular Economy

2020-12-17

Renewcell finalizes loan agreement with Nordea, SEK and Finnvera to finance new textile recycling plant

Patrik Lundström (CEO, Renewcell), Marica Bixo (Director – Export & Project Finance, Nordea) and Anna Karin Ljung (Senior Client Executive, SEK). Photo: Alexander Donka

As part of the financing structure for its planned full scale textile recycling plant in Sundsvall, Renewcell has entered a 450 million Swedish Krona loan facility agreement with Nordea, Swedish Export Credit Corporation (‘SEK’) and Finnish export credit agency Finnvera. The agreement was reached in November 2020, ahead of Renewcell’s successful IPO on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market.

“I am proud that the Renewcell team has been able to put together a project that meets the high standards of trusted financial institutions such as Nordea, SEK and Finnvera. They know the pulp industry through and through and will now play an invaluable role in ensuring the successful scale up of our innovation. I am confident that more lenders will now follow their lead in financing the Industrial Evolution to circularity and sustainability globally.” comments Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell.

This loan facility, together with the equity raised in the recent IPO, will enable Renewcell to execute its plans to build and commission a 60,000 tonne capacity textile recycling plant in Sundsvall, Sweden. The plant will be built on SCA’s industrial site Ortviken, Sundsvall, in a building currently housing a publication paper machine undergoing decommissioning. Following construction throughout 2021, Renewcell plans to begin ramping up production of its 100% recycled and branded Circulose® dissolving pulp at the new plant in the first half of 2022. Vinge acted as Renewcell’s legal advisor for the loan facility agreement.

”Our cooperation with Renewcell is a good example on how Nordea supports companies that carries the solutions on today´s sustainability challenges. We are really happy and proud that we can support Renewcell with our combined expertise within project financing and capital market and are looking forward to continue this journey together.” says Peter Dalmalm, Head of Business Banking Nordea.

“We are very proud to finance Renewcell's new plant for recycling textiles and thus contribute to increased sustainable Swedish exports and making the fashion industry circular. Renewcell's operations are in line with our ambition to enable the export industry's investments into a circular society”, says Anna Karin Ljung, Client Executive at Swedish Export Credit Corporation.

“We are proud to be able to support new, innovative application of Finnish pulp technology and hope to see similar sustainability and circularity driven projects more in the future.” comments Cecilia Saarnia, Senior Adviser of Finnvera.

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