The project is being financed by the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR) - Portugal's post-Covid drive to stimulate sustainable economic growth, consisting of €13.9 billion in grants and €2.7 billion in loans.
The new plant will increase the energy production capacity from Caima's residual forest biomass, allowing it to meet all of the factory's thermal energy needs, but will also reinforce the injection of green energy into the energy grid.
The new boiler, which should be completed and operational by the end of 2023, represents a total investment of over €40 million, one of the largest inside Portugal, with PRR financing.
Caima will see its production capacity reinforced, and will be able to produce acetic acid and fulfural for industries such as cosmetics.
Costa was accompanied on his visit by Paulo Fernandes, vice president of the board of directors of the Altri Group; José Soares de Pina, CEO of Altri and by Raquel Almeida, industrial director of Caima.
“We are in the interesting phase of the Agendas Mobilizadoras, the execution phase”, said Costa, highlighting the execution of the PRR.
Through this investment, “Caima will become the first cellulosic fibre factory in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the first in Europe to operate without the use of fossil fuels”, said Soares de Pina.
Costa further highlighted Ciama as an example of decarbonisation and of innovation.
"This is a group for whom the forest has value and who gives value to the forest,” he added, noting the need to increase the resilience of the Portuguese forest. "By valuing biomass, we protect our forest."
