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Closing the Loop on Nylon with Low-Emission Chemical Recycling

Objective

The textile industry is facing a mounting sustainability challenge, driven by its dependence on fossil-derived synthetic fibres and the lack of scalable solutions for recycling post-consumer waste. Globally, only <1% of post-consumer textile waste is recycled into new garments because most recycling technologies are unsuitable for the blended fabrics that dominate the textile industry. Regulatory pressure is rising via the EU Strategy for Sustainable & Circular Textiles, Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, and national mandates, widening the gap between policy objectives & industrial capabilities. This creates a pressing need for recycling technologies that can handle complex post-consumer textile waste at scale.
Syntetica offers a closed-loop chemical recycling process that converts any blended textile waste into virgin-quality polyamide 6 (PA6) and polyamide 66 (PA66). Our low-temperature, low-pressure process accepts textile waste containing significant amounts of other fibres (e.g. elastane, cotton & polyester). Unlike conventional recycling methods, which are energy-intensive and limited to near-pure waste streams, we can process PA6 & 66 together and selectively recover the respective PA monomers. The recovered monomers are then purified & repolymerised into virgin-quality PA suitable for use in textiles and automotive applications. Our mild process conditions also preserve non-nylon fibres like elastane and cotton, allowing them to be reused.
By unlocking a cost-effective and scalable route to circular PAs, we contribute to reducing carbon emissions, lowering reliance on fossil feedstocks, and supporting the textile industry’s compliance with emerging regulations. When deployed at scale, our technology can enable the recycling of ~6.3% of global nylon production by 2035 and produce 625,000 t of recycled virgin-grade PA pellets annually, making Syntetica a pivotal contributor to the circular economy in synthetic textiles.

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Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-EIC-ACC - HORIZON EIC Accelerator

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-02

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Coordinator

SYNTETICA
Net EU contribution
€ 2 499 999,00
Address
8 B RUE GABRIEL VOISIN
51100 REIMS
France
SME
Yes
Region
Grand Est Champagne-Ardenne Marne
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
No data