The archive · Climate & Energy · Technical decision · 2023–2026
Syntetica bets one-step chemistry can recycle mixed nylon at scale
Syntetica's patented process recycles nylon 6 and 6.6 together from unsorted textile waste; $30M Series A funds its first French demo plant.
Syntetica
What the business is
Syntetica is a Paris-based deep-tech company whose patented chemistry recycles nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 together in one step from unsorted post-consumer textile waste, turning blended garments into high-value raw material instead of requiring pre-sorting.
Starting capital：$30M Series A led by Bpifrance's Ecotechnologies 2 fund, with lululemon, MAS Holdings, Swen Capital Partners and existing investor EQT Ventures, announced mid-July 2026.
How it started
Syntetica was founded by Marco Bertone (CEO) and Louis Monsigny to close the biggest gap in textile circularity: almost every existing nylon recycling line requires nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 to be separated before processing, yet the two fibers are often intimately blended inside the same garment, making sorting costly or impossible. Their thesis was that brands under regulatory and reputational pressure to reduce virgin fossil-derived materials would pay for recycled nylon if a process could accept the mixed waste streams the industry had written off.
What happened
The company patented a chemical process able to treat nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 simultaneously in a single step and began working with Victoria's Secret and Etam to test regenerated fibers in upcoming collections. In July 2026 it closed a $30M Series A led by Bpifrance's Ecotechnologies 2 fund (backed by the France 2030 investment plan), with lululemon and MAS Holdings joining alongside EQT Ventures, Swen Capital Partners and family offices linked to Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Ventures. The money funds a first commercial demonstration facility built in partnership with Michelin's Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand, aimed at processing hundreds of tons of textile waste a year.
How it ended up
Still building as of 2026-09-02: the Series A closed in July 2026 and the first demonstration facility is being set up in France, with plans to expand the technology platform beyond nylon into other textiles, automotive and specialty chemicals.
Background
Syntetica is a Paris-based company founded by Marco Bertone (CEO) and Louis Monsigny that developed and patented a chemical process able to recycle nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 together in a single step from mixed textile waste. Most existing nylon recycling requires the two polymer types to be separated before processing, and because the fibers are often blended inside the same garment, that sorting is costly or impossible at scale.
The market math explains the bet: global nylon production reached around 7 million tons in 2024, according to Textile Exchange, yet recycled nylon accounts for only about 2% of the market. Syntetica's answer was to let the chemistry handle the mix - ingesting unsorted post-consumer waste and outputting a high-value raw material - so brands already testing the fibers could buy circular nylon without redesigning collection or sorting.
In July 2026 Syntetica closed a $30M Series A led by Bpifrance's Ecotechnologies 2 fund, joined by lululemon, MAS Holdings, Swen Capital Partners, existing investor EQT Ventures and family offices linked to Peugeot, Etam and Indorama Ventures. The funding builds Syntetica's first commercial demonstration facility in partnership with Michelin's Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand, targeting hundreds of tons of textile waste processed per year, with the platform later extended to automotive and specialty chemicals.
What has to be true
- The bottleneck is separation, not demand: recycled nylon is about 2% of a 7-million-ton market, so accepting mixed waste unlocks feedstock sorting-based competitors priced out.
- Brands are structurally motivated: lululemon, Victoria's Secret and Etam face pressure over virgin fossil-derived fibers, so they co-fund and test output rather than waiting.
- The round integrated the value chain: state fund Bpifrance, brand lululemon, manufacturer MAS Holdings and industrial partner Michelin each brought offtake, know-how or facility access.
- Nylon is the wedge, not the ceiling: the same chemical platform is designed to expand into other polymers, automotive parts and specialty chemicals.
What can be applied
When an industry's recycling ceiling is a separation bottleneck, the breakthrough is process chemistry that accepts the messy input - attacking sorting cost opens feedstock everyone else priced out.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02 Syntetica is in the building stage: the $30M Series A (announced mid-July 2026) is financing its first commercial demonstration facility with Michelin's Centre for Sustainable Materials in Clermont-Ferrand, with a target of processing hundreds of tons of textile waste per year, while Victoria's Secret and Etam test regenerated fibers for upcoming collections. Whether one-step mixed-nylon chemistry reaches industrial economics will be decided at that plant; expansion is planned into automotive and specialty chemicals.
Sources
- Lululemon Backs French Recycling Start-up Syntetica in $30 Million Series A Round
- EQT-backed Syntetica raises $30m backed by Lululemon
- Syntetica raises $30M to scale nylon recycling solutions
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