Europe’s ammunition drive hits cotton supply bottleneck

ANKARA

155 mm N795 artillery projectiles are stored during manufacturing process. (AP photo)

Europe’s efforts to expand ammunition production are running into a shortage of cotton linters, a little-known raw material needed to manufacture propellants for artillery shells and other munitions.

Cotton linters are the short fibers left on cotton seeds after the longer fibers used by the textile industry have been removed. Once purified, their high cellulose content makes them suitable for producing nitrocellulose, the principal ingredient in smokeless propellants.

The propellant burns rapidly inside a weapon, generating the gas needed to launch a projectile. It is separate from the explosive charge carried by an artillery shell.

Demand has risen sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, rapidly depleting European ammunition stocks. Production of NATO-standard 155 mm shells has increased, but shortages of nitrocellulose and other inputs have limited how quickly manufacturers can expand output.

The Wall Street Journal reported that limited linter supplies remained one of the main obstacles to NATO’s efforts to replenish its ammunition reserves. European nitrocellulose capacity would need to more than double to about 20,000 tons a year to meet projected demand, according to estimates cited by the newspaper.

Europe’s reliance on China has added to concerns over security of supply. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said in 2024 that European producers obtained more than 70 percent of their cotton linters from China.

The issue also has direct relevance for Türkiye, which produces both cotton and military-grade nitrocellulose.

The state-owned Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation’s (MKE) Powder Factory in the central province of Kırıkkale already manufactures several types of nitrocellulose and propellant powder for small- and large-caliber ammunition.

MKE is also building the Hüseyin Kâhya Energetic Materials Factory in Kırıkkale as part of its investment program covering 2023-2027. The facility is scheduled to begin production in 2026 and will manufacture nitrocellulose, gunpowder, rocket fuel, concentrated nitric acid and solid TNT.

The Defense Ministry has said the investment will approximately triple Türkiye’s existing production capacity for gunpowder, rocket fuel and explosives while reducing dependence on imported chemicals.

Türkiye’s cotton cultivation and processing industry could provide access to linter feedstock as European manufacturers seek alternatives to China. However, raw cotton or yarn production does not by itself amount to an ammunition supply capability.

Linters must be separated, purified and converted into military-grade nitrocellulose at specialized chemical plants that operate under strict safety and quality requirements. No plans to export output from MKE’s new facility have been announced.