Reju opens first R&D centre in North America

Textile-to-textile materials regeneration company Reju announced today the opening of its first research and development (R&D) centre in North America. Its establishment means the company is a step closer to building a closed-loop recycling ecosystem that converts discarded fabric and textiles into quality products.

The new facility is located in former mill town and manufacturing centre Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. The lab is situated within the existing research centre for advanced materials and catalysts of parent company Technip Energies so that Reju can benefit from direct access to decades of Technip Energies’ expertise in catalysis, process development, technology integration and industrial scale-up. In addition, the new R&D centre will help Reju accelerate the deployment of its recycling technologies and next-generation circular solutions.

Building a closed-loop recycling ecosystem

Reju's core research team from IBM’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, will relocate to the new R&D center. At the former, Reju first developed its Volcat depolymerization technology, a catalytic chemical recycling method breaking down polyester into reusable raw materials.

“I am excited to be joining such an innovative company and to be part of the team moving the technology towards industrialisation and supporting the infrastructure for true post-consumer textile-to-textile recycling at scale,” comments Gregory Breyta, director of research & development at Reju, in a press release.

Moving from mere polyester recycling, the new facility will be focused on the full development spectrum from early-stage feasibility through to kilo-scale production. This includes mixed-fabric solutions and new circular chemistry pathways. The aim is to enable rapid iteration and to accelerate Reju's path from concept to industrial reality.

Most importantly, the new R&D centre will support the development and validation of technologies intended for deployment across Reju's future regeneration hubs. Currently, there is Hub Zero in Frankfurt, Germany, which is up and running, Hub One planned in Sittard, Netherlands, another one in Lacq, France, and the first North American one in Rochester, New York.