Houston, Texas headquarterd engineering company
KBR is partnering with Canberra, Australia-based
Samsara Eco to design and build a first-of-its-kind plastics
and textiles enzymatic recycling plant, due for completion
in early 2028.
Samsara Eco’s enzymatic recycling technology aims to
create a continuous recycling loop for some of the most
common types of plastics and synthetic fibres that have
traditionally been difficult or impossible to recycle. Powered
by a proprietary AI platform, the company’s patented
enzymes break down synthetic materials to their original
building blocks (monomers) allowing them to be
continuously remanufactured into new products without
degradation in quality and with a low carbon footprint.
Unlike other recycling methods, Samsara Eco’s technology
has demonstrated the recycling of notoriously difficult
plastics, including nylon 6.6 and mixed fibres, as well as
coloured and dyed fabric blends.
Under the terms of the agreement, KBR will perform a
pre-FEED (front-end engineering design) of the project by
the end of the second quarter of 2025. KBR’s technical and
commercial experts will then deliver a FEED engineering
package for the process design to build a 20,000 metric tons
per year commercial facility for nylon 6.6.
“KBR is uniquely equipped to deliver world-class solutions
that help our customers bring sustainable technology to
market and we are thrilled to support Samsara Eco on this
unique opportunity,” said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR
Sustainable Technology Solutions.
“We are charging full speed ahead to deliver our first plant
to fuel a circular economy and support the ambitions of our
brand partners,” added founder and CEO of Samsara Eco
Paul Riley. “KBR brings unmatched engineering expertise
and will ensure we can design and build our facility with
speed and precision. We’re proud to have KBR in our
corner, helping bring our technology to industrial scale.”
Samsara Eco is already working with leading brands
including lululemon to swap virgin materials for recycled
materials. Last year, it debuted the world’s first
enzymatically recycled nylon 6.6 product. It also launched.