A London startup is using AI engineered enzymes to break down one of the world’s toughest plastics and turn it back into high quality raw materials, offering a potential route to large scale circular manufacturing.
Why Nylon 6,6 Has Been So Hard To Recycle
Nylon 6,6 is a high performance synthetic plastic made from petroleum based chemicals, engineered to be exceptionally strong, heat resistant and durable. It is widely used in products that need to withstand stress and high temperatures, including sportswear, carpets, car airbags and industrial components.
However, those same properties have also made it extremely difficult to recycle. Traditional mechanical recycling degrades the material, while chemical recycling often requires clean, single source inputs and high energy processes. As a result, less than one per cent of nylon 6,6 is typically recycled at end of life.
This has left industries reliant on virgin petroleum feedstocks, locking in both cost volatility and significant carbon emissions.
How Epoch Biodesign’s Technology Works
Epoch Biodesign has developed a process that uses AI designed enzymes to break nylon 6,6 back down into its original building blocks, known as monomers.
Rather than using whole biological systems, the company deploys a cascade of highly specific enzymes, each targeting a particular chemical bond within the polymer. This allows the material to be deconstructed step by step into adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine, the same inputs used to produce new nylon.
More Than 90 Per Cent Of Original Material Recovered
The process recovers more than 90 per cent of the original material and produces output that meets virgin quality standards. As the company explains, “we produce textile grade recycled nylon 6,6, suitable for the most demanding fibre applications,” enabling direct reuse without changes to existing manufacturing processes.
From Waste To Feedstock At Industrial Scale
A key advantage of the approach is its ability to handle real world waste streams. For example, most discarded textiles are blends, often combining nylon with elastane, coatings or other fibres that make them unsuitable for conventional recycling.
Epoch’s system processes mixed inputs and separates the chemistry at a molecular level. According to the company, “we accept nylon 6,6 from a wide range of mixed waste streams, regardless of form, colour, or composition,” removing one of the biggest barriers to scaling textile recycling.
The process also operates at low temperatures and standard pressure, reducing energy use compared to traditional chemical methods. This creates a pathway to lower cost and lower emission recycling at scale.
Why Investors And Industry Are Paying Attention
The company has raised more than $50m in total funding, including a recent $12m round backed by apparel brand lululemon and climate focused investors. It is also working with Invista, one of the world’s largest nylon producers, to develop recycled nylon at commercial scale.
This level of backing indicates a clear commercial opportunity. Nylon feedstock prices have recently seen sharp increases, driven by volatility in petrochemical markets. By using waste as its input, Epoch’s model is less exposed to these fluctuations.
Founder Jacob Nathan has framed the shift in simple terms, describing waste textiles as a new resource rather than a problem, with the company’s process designed to “transform waste into recycled, drop in materials at low temperatures and low cost.”
A Growing Field Of Enzymatic Recycling
Epoch is part of a wider movement applying biology and AI to plastic recycling challenges.
Companies such as Carbios (in France), have developed enzyme based processes to break down PET plastics used in bottles and packaging, and are now scaling industrial facilities, while Samsara Eco, based in Australia, is also using engineered enzymes to recycle mixed plastics and textiles, including nylon blends.
What sets Epoch apart is its focus on nylon 6,6, which has historically been far more difficult to recycle than PET, and its ability to process mixed and contaminated inputs.
What This Means For Materials And Manufacturing
This development highlights a broader shift in how materials are produced and reused. Instead of relying on fossil resources, manufacturers could increasingly source feedstock from waste streams.
For sectors such as fashion, automotive and industrial manufacturing, this offers a way to reduce both emissions and supply chain risk without compromising material performance. The ability to produce “drop in” replacements is particularly important, as it avoids the need for costly redesign or requalification of products.
At the same time, it highlights the growing role of AI in industrial chemistry, where it is being used to solve problems that were previously too complex or slow to address through traditional research methods.
What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?
For UK businesses, this signals that circular materials are moving closer to commercial reality, particularly in sectors that rely on high performance plastics.
Companies involved in manufacturing, product design or supply chains should begin assessing how recycled inputs could be integrated into their operations, especially where sustainability targets or regulatory pressures are increasing. Technologies that deliver virgin quality materials from waste are likely to gain traction quickly once scaled.
There is also a strategic opportunity to reduce exposure to volatile raw material markets. Processes that decouple production from fossil fuel inputs offer greater pricing stability and long term resilience.
This story highlights how waste is now increasingly being treated as a resource, and businesses that adapt early to circular supply models should be better positioned as these technologies move from pilot to mainstream industrial use.