Houston, Texas headquarterd engineering company KBR is partnering with Canberra, Australia-based Samsara Eco to design and build a first-of-its-kind plastics and textiles enzymatic recycling plant, due for completion in early 2028.

Samsara Eco’s enzymatic recycling technology aims to create a continuous recycling loop for some of the most common types of plastics and synthetic fibres that have traditionally been difficult or impossible to recycle. Powered by a proprietary AI platform, the company’s patented enzymes break down synthetic materials to their original building blocks (monomers) allowing them to be continuously remanufactured into new products without degradation in quality and with a low carbon footprint.

Unlike other recycling methods, Samsara Eco’s technology has demonstrated the recycling of notoriously difficult plastics, including nylon 6.6 and mixed fibres, as well as coloured and dyed fabric blends.

Under the terms of the agreement, KBR will perform a pre-FEED (front-end engineering design) of the project by the end of the second quarter of 2025. KBR’s technical and commercial experts will then deliver a FEED engineering package for the process design to build a 20,000 metric tons per year commercial facility for nylon 6.6.

“KBR is uniquely equipped to deliver world-class solutions that help our customers bring sustainable technology to market and we are thrilled to support Samsara Eco on this unique opportunity,” said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions.

“We are charging full speed ahead to deliver our first plant to fuel a circular economy and support the ambitions of our brand partners,” added founder and CEO of Samsara Eco Paul Riley. “KBR brings unmatched engineering expertise and will ensure we can design and build our facility with speed and precision. We’re proud to have KBR in our corner, helping bring our technology to industrial scale.”

Samsara Eco is already working with leading brands including lululemon to swap virgin materials for recycled materials. Last year, it debuted the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6.6 product. It also launched the first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester, creating lululemon’s limited edition Packable Anorak jacket.

www.samsaraeco.com