Technology company Voith has won the German Sustainability Award for its Infinity +Green press felt and the recycling concept behind it. The 18th annual award ceremony took place on 5 December 2025, in Düsseldorf.
Voith was among the winners in the ‘Resources’ category and impressed the 240 jury members from science, business and civil society with its innovative press felt for paper production. The full recyclability of the product in a closed cycle, which is a first, contributes to improving the sustainability of industrial paper production.
“Infinity +Green opens up new opportunities for the paper industry to implement the circular economy in concrete terms and take responsibility for the future. The German Sustainability Award confirms that we are on the right track,” says Anne Klaschka, global product Manager Press Felts at Voith Paper.
Press felts are used in the drying of paper webs and are exposed to high stresses – they therefore usually have to be replaced after a few weeks. Conventional felts then have to be disposed of, generating around 15,000 tons of waste worldwide every year. In contrast, Infinity +Green press felts, developed according to the “design for recycling” approach, enable a closed recycling loop that reduces waste volumes and minimizes the use of resources. At the same time, manufacturing new felts from recycled material reduces the carbon footprint by up to 31 percent compared to conventional products.
To enable recycling, Infinity +Green press felts are produced using only one type of polyamide. This purity of type is crucial for an efficient recycling process. In processing used felts, Voith collaborates with Aquafil S.p.A., a pioneer in PA 6 recycling.
In this process, used PA 6 is efficiently converted in several stages through depolymerization into new, high-quality PA 6 granulate (under the brand name ECONYL), from which new Infinity +Green press felts are manufactured. The original performance of the material is fully retained, which means that Infinity +Green felts can be recycled repeatedly in a closed loop without any loss of quality.
Felt production itself is also sustainable: Voith uses only green electricity, some of which comes from the company’s own hydroelectric power plant.
Voith has previously been nominated several times for the German Sustainability Award for its innovations. In 2022, the Voith Paper division received the award in the “Design Vision” category for its XcelLine paper machine. The renewed recognition confirms the progress Voith has made in implementing its sustainability goals. These goals are an integral part of the company’s long-term strategy and reflect its commitment to responsible action.
