Inditex-backed Epoch Biodesign acquires Spanish plant to scale recycled nylon production

Madrid – London-based biotechnology start-up Epoch Biodesign has announced the acquisition of the former Domo Polymer nylon 6,6 polymerisation plant in Blanes, Gerona. The company specialises in the enzymatic biorecycling of pre- and post-consumer textiles. The acquisition has been described as a “fundamental step” towards its goal of moving to a fully vertically integrated model. This will help address the challenge of producing circular textile materials at scale.

In early June, local newspaper La Vanguardia reported that Epoch had successfully won the bid to acquire the polymer production plant in Blanes. The facility belonged to the Spanish company Domo Polymer Solutions Spain, which entered administration at the beginning of the year. This was a direct result of a major business model restructuring by its parent company, the Belgian group Domo Chemicals.

This process resulted in a bidding war for the acquisition of Domo Polymer Solutions Spain's production unit. The purchase by Epoch Biodesign was ultimately approved. Both the insolvency administrator and the Commercial Court No. 2 of Girona considered the British start-up's offer superior to those from other bidders. Other bidders included Building Davidyluis and Juheshun Advanced Materials. Epoch's winning offer was for approximately 6.5 million euros (7.48 million dollars) for the production unit and included retaining 60 of the plant's 70 employees.

Capacity to produce up to 52,000 tonnes of recycled nylon 6,6 polymers annually

Regarding Epoch Biodesign's plans for the plant, the biotechnology company has stated that the Blanes facility will immediately play a key role in its operations. It will be crucial for its goals of accelerating the move towards vertical integration and the industrial-scale production of 'textile-to-textile' recycled nylon 6,6. To achieve these ambitions, the company has acknowledged that its relationship with Inditex and Lululemon, two of its key investors, is moving beyond simple funding.

In this regard, Epoch Biodesign confirmed its plans last April to build and commission a pilot production plant in London. This plant will use its AI-designed enzymes to break down nylon fibres into their basic chemical components. The company now adds that once the plant becomes operational, expected before the end of this year, these monomers will be sent to Spain. They will be processed and transformed into finished polymers at the Blanes plant. With this facility, Epoch will integrate and internally manage the key process of recycling nylon waste, moving towards a vertically integrated model. For now, the final stages of this model, up to the finished garment, will be completed through third parties. Epoch will begin to facilitate the industrial-scale supply of recycled nylon 6,6 polymers to these manufacturers and suppliers once the Blanes plant resumes production, expected in October.

From then on, the plant will become the destination for all monomers produced by Epoch Biodesign at its London pilot plant. In the future, it will also process monomers from the industrial-scale plant the company aims to launch by 2028. This future plant will have an estimated capacity to produce over 20,000 tonnes of monomers annually from the enzymatic recycling of nylon waste. These tonnes would also be transported to the Blanes facility, which has the capacity to produce some 52,000 tonnes of nylon polymers. This production was previously of virgin polymers. Under Epoch's management, it will now be of recycled nylon 6,6 polymers. The company is already working with Lululemon and Inditex to introduce these polymers to the market as a circular raw material for fashion garments.

“Nylon 6,6 is one of the highest-performing materials in the world. It is used in clothing, automotive and industrial applications on a scale of more than two million tonnes per year. However, less than 1 percent is recycled at the end of its life.” Based on this assessment, the biotechnology company points out, “Epoch offers a solution to companies by using AI-designed enzymes to break down plastic waste at a molecular level, resulting in virgin-quality recycled monomers that can be recycled indefinitely without loss of quality.” These monomers, they add, “will now be transformed into high-performance polymers in Blanes.”

To put this operation into a broader context, the “acquisition will allow for the full integration of Epoch's recycled nylon 6,6 production,” covering the process “from waste to polymer.” “With the acquisition of a plant with an annual capacity of 52,000 tonnes,” they highlight, “Epoch becomes the only biorecycling company in the world with the capacity for commercial-scale polymer production. This vertical integration will allow Epoch to accelerate the scaling of its technology and start supplying materials on a commercial scale from today, reducing supply chain risks for its customers and giving a new lease of life to a fossil-fuel era facility.” Furthermore, in line with its objectives to move towards industrial-scale production, “we work very closely with our partners Lululemon and Inditex, both at a capital and commercial level,” emphasised Jacob Nathan, founder and chief executive officer of Epoch Biodesign, in a statement to the US publication WWD. Nathan added that the relationship with Lululemon and Inditex “already goes beyond capital and extends to ongoing collaboration to bring recycled nylon 6,6 to the fashion market.”