CIMV to build straw pulp mill in France

BRUSSELS, June 20, 2008 (RISI) - French biomass research organization Compagnie Industrielle de la Matière Végétale (CIMV) and Champagnes Céréales, a European agriculture group, are forming a joint venture to build a pulp mill in Vitry-le-François, central France, that will run exclusively on straw.

The mill, which is slated to start up in October 2009, will consume 140,000 tonnes/yr of straw and employ about 130 people. The organization did not comment on the output of the mill, though local media estimated it at around 60,000 tonnes/yr.

CIMV will take care of the basic engineering and Champagnes Céréales will ensure the raw material supply. CIMV, which expects the plant's secondary use of the straw for power to keep its greenhouse gas emissions negligible, sees the mill as a step toward the international marketing of its biomass and pulp making technologies.

According to Michel Delmas, one of the organization's spokesmen, 1.5 billion tonnes of straw and bagasse that currently go to waste around the world can be used for applications like the Vitry-le-François mill.

The decision to construct the new mill follows CIMV's 2004 Euro 2.7 million ($4.1 million) straw pulp processing pilot project in Reims, France.