Nylon 6,6 is used in everything from athletic leggings to car components, but no recycling solution has reached commercial scale. Epoch Biodesign, backed by Lululemon and deep-tech investors, is betting AI-designed enzymes can close that gap.
The obstacle to nylon 6,6 recycling is not scientific ignorance. It is economic and technical viability. The polymer is among the most widely used in performance textiles and automotive components, prized for its strength and durability, but its molecular structure defeats the mechanical and chemical recycling methods that work for simpler plastics. For brands with sourcing targets on paper, credible supply-side options have been thin on the ground.
Epoch Biodesign is attempting to fill that gap. The London-based biotech startup announced on March 25 that it has closed a new financing round of $12 million, bringing total capital raised since its 2019 founding to more than $50 million. The round includes lululemon, KOMPAS VC, Happiness Capital, Extantia and Leitmotif, among others.
AI-engineered enzymes turn mixed waste into feedstock good enough to replace virgin material
Epoch’s process deploys AI-designed enzymes to break nylon 6,6 – whether from worn-out garments, industrial scrap or automotive components – into its constituent monomers: adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine (HMDA). Those building blocks are then used to produce new polymer and yarn of virgin quality. The company says the process operates at ambient temperatures, avoids toxic byproducts and generates up to 80 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions than conventional nylon production.
What distinguishes the approach commercially is its tolerance for difficult feedstocks. Epoch says it can handle blended textiles, multi-layer laminates, coated fibres and mixed automotive plastics – materials that typically end up in landfill or incineration because standard recycling cannot process them. The company supplies recycled nylon 6,6 as a drop-in option through a network of yarn producers, meaning brands and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can improve their sourcing sustainability profile without changing supplier relationships.
Lululemon’s bet is as much about supply-chain resilience as it is about circularity targets
For lululemon, participation in the round connects directly to business-critical materials exposure. A majority of the Canadian athleticwear brand’s products – including its Align and Wunder Train leggings – rely on nylon and polyester. The company has set targets to scale alternative nylon solutions and to source 100 percent renewable or recycled nylon across its range; backing a startup that can actually produce the material is a different kind of commitment than signing a pledge.
The investment fits a pattern of simultaneous technology bets across Lululemon’s supply side. In 2024, the brand extended a partnership with Australian environmental tech company Samsara Eco through a 10-year offtake agreement for recycled nylon and polyester, following an initial 2023 collaboration. Prior to that, it entered a multi-year deal with California-based biotech firm ZymoChem for bio-based nylon. Adding Epoch extends that portfolio to enzymatic chemical recycling – a different process category targeting a different problem in the recycling chain.
From pilot to commercial scale: a 2028 target and a growing industrial partner network
The fresh capital will fund development of a demonstration-scale facility near Imperial College London, designed to prove out production at commercial volumes. A full commercial facility is planned for 2028 with projected annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons of monomer. The company is also approaching completion of what it describes as its second and largest nylon 6,6 biorecycling facility to date.
Alongside the funding announcement, Epoch disclosed an earlier memorandum of understanding (MOU) with INVISTA – one of the world’s largest nylon 6,6 producers – aimed at advancing post-consumer recycling of the material. The addition of Leitmotif, a deep-tech fund with automotive sector ties, signals that Epoch is actively building commercial demand across industries rather than treating apparel as its sole route to scale. The company reports more than 40 partnerships spanning performance apparel, luxury fashion, automotive and industrial textiles.
