Fairbrics Raises €22 M for Technology Developing CO₂-based Polyester

TAGS:  Automotive    Sustainability and Bioplastics   

Fairbrics, a sustainable chemical company developing a technology that converts CO₂ emissions into high value polyester through a circular manufacturing approach, announced it has raised €17 M from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Program and €5 M from Partners to the Technology Upscaling Project, representing a total amount of €22 M to bring its innovative solution to market.

Decarbonation By Replacing Fossil-Based Polyester

The EU’s grant was awarded to a consortium coordinated by Fairbrics that brings together 13 partners from 7 countries throughout Europe, ranging from upstream and process development experts (i.e., engineering design, CO₂ capture, chemical reuse, electrolyzer) to final product specialists (i.e. Faurecia for automotive, Les Tissages de Charlieu for textile). To prompt societal impact, the Project also includes a strong educational component and, together with academic partners, it will develop learning and training resources on CO₂ valorization for young professionals, university students and lifelong learners.

The combined funds will be used to upscale Fairbrics’ technology, first in a pilot line of 100 kg/day by 2024 and later, by 2026, in a 1 ton/day demo plant. The primary aim is to fight climate change and accelerate energy intensive industries’ decarbonation by replacing fossil-based polyester with CO₂- based polyester, using a circular approach that recycles CO₂ waste fumes from chemical plants into high value textile products. Fairbrics targets sectors employing polyester as a main material: clothing but also sports equipment, automotive and packaging.

Related Read: Sustainability in Plastics - How Material Suppliers Work Towards Circular Supply Chain? 

“By using CO₂ emissions instead of fossil resources to manufacture polyester, Fairbrics addresses one of the greatest global challenge, climate change caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. This funding comes as a strong recognition of the work Fairbrics has accomplished so far, the quality of the consortium we brought together, and the extraordinary potential of our technology to provide highly polluting industries like textile with an alternate environment-friendly and economically viable solution,” said Benoît Illy, cofounder and CEO of Fairbrics.

Today, polyester accounts for 60% of all textiles produced worldwide and a third of the fashion industry’s GHG emission. By replacing fossil fuel sources by CO₂-based sources, Fairbrics provides a sustainable and scalable solution to energy intensive industries. Fairbrics will initially address the fashion industry and has already secured strategic partnerships with major brands such as H&M, On-Running and Aigle. It intends to progressively diversify its technology platform with solutions addressing other sectors such as sports equipment, packaging and automotive.

Source: Fairbrics