UK's Solena secures $6.7 mn for AI-designed biodegradable textile
Imperial spinout will scale its activity to help create a new generation of sustainable, high-performance textiles using an entirely new class of fibres.
Solena Materials has raised $6.7 million (£5.1 million) in seed funding, following a $4.1 million (£3.1 million) pre-seed funding round in 2022, that it will use to produce protein fibres at scale.
Imperial spinout Solena Materials has raised $6.7 million to scale up production of sustainable, biodegradable protein fibres designed using AI and engineered microbes. These novel fibres, offering high performance and lower environmental impact, could transform fashion and technical textiles. The investment will fund expansion and support partnerships with leading fashion brands.
The company uses AI techniques to custom-design fibres at the molecular level which are then produced using engineered microbes. Its AI techniques allow it to optimise performance characteristics of the fibres such as appearance, hand-feel and tensile strength, and could result in new and higher performing fashion, sports apparel, and technical textiles.
Solena's co-founder and CEO, Dr James MacDonald , developed the techniques behind the company as a researcher at Imperial in collaboration with his other co-founders. 'We're creating protein sequences that don't exist in nature to have the performance specifications we need while also being highly manufacturable,' he explained.
Professor Paul Freemont, Solena co-founder and Head of the Section of Structural and Synthetic Biology in Imperial's Department of Infectious Disease , said: 'This extraordinary technology is opening up a whole new paradigm in the design of protein fibres. James has created new protein molecules that can form fibres that currently don't exist. That's really exciting because no one has been able to do that before – we've always had to rely on what nature gave us. Now we're building our own protein fibres from first principles. This will be a paradigm shift.'
Because the microbes used to produce the fibres use renewable feedstocks, the company's fibres could also potentially be produced at a lower environmental cost than synthetic textiles made from petroleum and resource-intensive natural fibres. The fibres are also biodegradable, unlike traditional synthetic fibres such as polyester.
Solena launched in 2022 with premises in Imperial's White City Incubator and pre-seed investment from Insempra. It has now raised further funds in a round led by Sir David Harding, alongside SynBioVen and Insempra.
It will use the investment to move from premises in the I-HUB building on Imperial's White City Deep Tech Campus to a larger facility, with an ambition to stay close to Imperial. This will allow the company to scale production of its novel textile fibres in partnership with well-known fashion brands.
Professor Milo Shaffer, Solena co-founder and Chair in Materials Chemistry at Imperial , said: 'Solena is particularly exciting, not only as a new class of high performance sustainable fibres for a wide range of applications, but also as an example of a paradigm shift in accelerating materials discovery. The combination of computational design with rapid evaluation in fibre form, directly feeds to scaled up production and implementation, exploiting established textile technology.'
Dr MacDonald shared details of the investment at the SynBioBeta conference in California, near Imperial Global USA, a hub that is helping the university build links with partners such as businesses and investors in the US. Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
16 minutes ago
- India Today
UPSC Civil Services Prelims result 2025 to be out anytime soon
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is likely to announce the results for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025 in the coming days. This year, the UPSC CSE Prelims were held on May 25 in two sessions, following the usual format. Based on past trends, the results are typically declared around 15 days after the exam date, which places the expected announcement around released, the results will be published in a PDF format on the official website — — listing the roll numbers of candidates shortlisted for the next round: the Mains the 2024 cycle, the cut-off marks saw a notable increase, with the General category cut-off reaching 87.98. The OBC and EWS cut-offs stood at 87.28 and 85.92, respectively. The highest cut-off in the last five years was recorded in 2020, where the General category threshold hit TO CHECK UPSC CSE PRELIMS RESULT 2025 Visit on the 'What's New' sectionFind and click the link titled 'UPSC CSE Prelims 2025 Result'A PDF with shortlisted roll numbers will openUse Ctrl+F to search for your roll number and save the file for HAPPENS AFTER THE RESULTS?advertisementCandidates who clear the prelims must fill out the Detailed Application Form-I (DAF-I), which will be released shortly after the result announcement. The DAF-I requires detailed information regarding personal background, academic qualifications, and service preferences to proceed to the Mains EXAM PORTAL AND AADHAAR INTEGRATIONRecently, UPSC introduced a new registration portal allowing Aadhaar-based authentication. As of the first week, over 92% of applicants have opted for Aadhaar verification, streamlining identity checks for future AND NDA APPLICATIONSMeanwhile, UPSC has also opened applications for CDS II and NDA/NA II exams 2025. Interested candidates can apply by June 17 at with exams scheduled for September 14.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Did You Know Astronaut Rakesh Sharma's Son Is A Filmmaker?
New Delhi: Did you know that Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to fly to space, has a son who chose a very different career path? His son Kapil Sharma is a filmmaker who directed the 2013 movie I, Me Aur Main, starring John Abraham, Chitrangda Singh and Prachi Desai. Kapil Sharma may not have followed in his father's footsteps, but space was very much a part of his childhood. In an interview with in 2011, Kapil recalled what it was like growing up as the son of India's first astronaut. "I was 10 and I remember everything. I knew by the age of four or five what a fighter aircraft was and what they did. I knew what my dad did," he said. He shared how fascinated he was seeing his father return from night flying missions: "For me, at the age of four or five, that was terrific when he came home with helmet and oxygen mask. I would wait for him to go on night flights just to see him in his clothes." Kapil said he was already familiar with sci-fi thanks to Star Wars, so when he learned that his father would be going to space, it felt surreal. He added, "For a kid, it was like going to an amusement park." While Rakesh Sharma was training for his space mission, the family lived in Moscow for a year-and-a-half. "The main launch took place in Kazakhstan. The family stays in Moscow, and when there is an opportunity to speak, mom would be taken to mission control in Moscow and she would speak to dad," Kapil recalled. When they returned to India, Kapil realised the scale of his father's fame. He shared, "In school, I was a star. I didn't always want that attention, but I got it by default." But it was cinema, not aviation or space, that captured Kapil's imagination. From a young age, he was drawn to theatre and backstage work. "In school and college, I was always interested in theatre and plays. I loved watching movies and everything about it, and somewhere in my middle teens, I wanted to know about the process of filmmaking," he said. Kapil studied environmental science at St Joseph's in Bangalore, but eventually pursued a master's in mass communication from Pune University, with a specialisation in video production. He began his career working in television, creating news features and fiction shows. Wanting to break into films, he then went to the US to study at the International Film and Television Workshop in Maine, where he learned skills like cinematography, direction and scriptwriting. Kapil returned to India in 2001 and, in 2013, made his directorial debut with I, Me Aur Main. Interestingly, before becoming a director, Kapil also had a brief stint in acting. He appeared in films such as The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Kapil's sister, Krittika Sharma, is a media artist. Meanwhile, Rakesh Sharma, now retired, has expressed his desire to be part of India's future space missions. Speaking to NDTV, he said he would like to fly in India's own manned mission Gaganyaan. The Gaganyaan mission, expected to launch in 2025-2026, is a key part of India's human spaceflight programme. Launched from Sriharikota on the Human Rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (GSLV Mk III), the Gaganyaan mission will send up to three astronauts into low-Earth orbit for up to three days. As the country waits for its next big leap in space, another Indian Air Force officer is getting ready to make history. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, selected as one of ISRO's four astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission, is set to launch aboard the Axiom Mission 4. He and three other astronauts will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, scheduled for launch on June 10 at 8:22 am ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre. The Axiom 4 crew will orbit the station and carry out science experiments, outreach and commercial tasks, marking yet another milestone in India's growing space legacy, one that started with Rakesh Sharma's historic journey four decades ago.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
engineers india: I-Sec downgrades Engineers India to Add, raises target price to Rs 250
Cancel › › › › Text Size: A A A I-Sec downgrades Engineers India to Add, raises target price to Rs 250 Sign In Sign Up Success This article has been saved
