Insempra biologically replicates materials from conventional chemical production processes to end dependence on traditional petrochemical manufacturers. The strategic investment in Solena Materials is intended to support the Munich biotech company’s strategy of leveraging new technologies to advance biological production processes and create naturally superior products. Solena Materials will serve as part of Insempra’s platform to deliver high-performance, naturally sustainable ingredients for a broad range of industries. In May of last year, Insempra, then still operating as Origin.Bio, secured investment capital of 12.3 million euros. The IZB-based company intended to invest the fresh capital in team expansion and new technologies.
Solena Materials uses computer-aided design to develop new classes of synthetic proteins from which high-performance clothing fibers are manufactured that can absorb large amounts of kinetic energy. By developing and manufacturing these synthetic proteins at industrial scale, the company aims to create biobased solutions for the petrochemical, non-biodegradable materials currently used in the textile and apparel industry, or fibers derived from nature or animals such as silk. This technology also reduces other environmental impacts such as the accumulation of microplastics in waterways that result from washing textiles made from petrochemical raw materials.
“Tailored high-performance fibers for a wide range of applications”
Jens Klein, founder and CEO of Insempra and CEO of Solena Materials, commented on the current investment:
“We are very pleased about this investment in Solena, which will help accelerate our market-leading approach to developing superior, naturally sustainable ingredients. We look forward to advancing the development and production of Solena’s unique synthetic proteins to create tailored high-performance fibers for a wide range of applications.”
James MacDonald, inventor, co-founder, and CTO of Solena Materials, added:
“The team and I are very much looking forward to making this technology a major success.”
“Recognizes the potential of our technology”
Professor Paul Freemont from Imperial College London added:
“This investment by Insempra recognizes the potential of our technology to revolutionize high-performance fabrics and their supply chains. Together we can leverage our capabilities in synthetic biology to develop, produce, and manufacture a new class of superior, more sustainable fiber technologies.”
Insempra, a co-founder of Solena, will be the sole shareholder of Solena, which is based at Imperial College’s Translation & Innovation Hub in White City, London. Solena’s board will consist of James MacDonald from Solena, Professor Paul Freemont and Professor Milo Shaffer from Imperial College London, and Jens Klein and Andreas Heyl from Insempra.
