Solena Materials and The Protein Express have secured €1.4 million in funding to support the development of scalable, commercially viable protein-based textiles, representing an ‘entirely new category’ for the global textile market.
The two groups were awarded the funding for their EXPREST project through the Eureka Eurostars programme. EXPREST is a 32-month collaboration that will combine Solena Materials’ AI-driven protein design platform with The Protein Express’s industrial fermentation technology.
“After 40 years in industrial fermentation, I’ve witnessed many innovations, but this project stands out as both technically and commercially exceptional,” commented Wim De Laat, founder of The Protein Express/BioscienZ.
“We’re producing a high-performance spinnable protein that represents a breakthrough in scalability using renewable resources. The potential impact is tremendous, and what makes it even more exciting is that we’re achieving this through a collaboration between two innovative startups thinking outside conventional boundaries.”
Protein fibre
As part of the project, the two partners will develop a novel fermented protein fibre optimised for low-cost production, alongside scalable purification and manufacturing processes. It will also generate validated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) data, in addition to EU REACH regulation standards, in order to support future regulatory alignment and commercial readiness.
The groups said that their initial focus will be on the performance and premium apparel markets, although they added that the technology could support broader applications across the global textile industry.
‘A new class of fibres’
“We are delighted to be working with The Protein Express/BioscienZ on EXPREST,” added Dr James MacDonald, co-founder and CEO of Solena Materials. “This collaboration brings together computational protein design and industrial-scale production to address one of the key barriers facing protein-based textiles: manufacturability at scale.
“Together, we are progressing a new class of fibres from development towards genuine commercial readiness.”
Solena Materials was founded in 2022 as a spinout from Imperial College London. Netherlands-based The Protein Express was founded in 2026 as the successor to BioscienZ. Read more here.
