Public Funding for Pangaia Materials Science Limited

Shimmery substances including metal oxides, mined and synthetic minerals, plastics and bio-based **pigments,** are used to make our cosmetics, fabrics, paints, and packaging bright and colourful. However, they are serious offenders when it comes to ingredient toxicity, exploitive labour practices, depletion of non-renewable resources and carbon-intensive extraction, transport and manufacturing practices. Mineral pigment titanium has been recognised as **carcinogen** and banned from certain products, metal and mineral processing is **incredibly** **energy and chemical intensive** and mined mica is associated with tens of thousands of children and women working in **illegal mines** and terrible conditions. Even humble glitter and sequins, dye and pigment-coated plastic have been described as an **environmental disaster**, and even eco-friendlier alternatives combine mineral pigment with ocean-polluting microplastics. **Sparxell's** **ground-breaking technology** looked to nature to create an alternative to these widely-used ingredients. Inspired by the natural shimmering effect seen on some berries and bird feathers for instance, Sparxell's technology transforms edible **cellulose nanocrystals** into a fully biodegradable and renewable pigment. It even has the potential to be net-zero, sourced locally from waste streams. The greatest challenge for Sparxell is producing large enough amounts to satisfy the unmet needs of the industry. This project will see Sparxell move from its laboratory pilot production of 50g batches/day to a manufacturing system design capable of producing 2kg/day. By 2029, our ambition is to produce over **400,000kg/p.a.** of pigment and generate **£75m** in revenue. We are working closely with global brands who have stated that _**'this is the solution that the market has been waiting for'**_ to solve their environmental sustainability problems. With support from several of the UK's leading cosmetics and fashion brands, plus technical input from the UK's Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), this project will conduct vital R&D to overcome key technical barriers and accelerate this novel technology to market.

This is a pivotal time for UK fashion and textiles. It is essential that the sector strengthens its sustainable competitiveness, needing a fundamental change driven by industrial research and development. With the need to improve the impact of the sector on people and planet, the UK is competing on an international stage. But the prize for those who get there first is two-fold. The winner will enjoy the social and environmental benefits, but also the economic benefit of being a world leader in the provision of circular fashion and textiles. Today, over 1 million tonnes of used textiles are generated annually in the UK. An estimated 1/3 are non-rewearable textiles (NRT) which are currently being lost through export, to be sorted in lower cost labour regions, or to landfill/incineration. The **ACT project** is focused on a solution to overcome these challenges and on achieving Materials Circularity for NRT so they are collected, sorted and processed into feedstock for existing and emerging recycling processes, keeping these resources in circulation. While Product Circularity is equally important, it's widely recognised that fibre to fibre (F2F) recycling is essential for Materials Circularity, replacing the use of virgin resources, and supporting the textile industry in reaching its climate positive targets. However, the used textile supply chain is not currently equipped to supply these facilities. F2F recycling processes exist at different stages of industrialisation and will scale from 2025 onwards, with operating capacities reaching over 50,000 tonnes per annum, per plant. For the UK to benefit economically, environmentally and socially, **the used textiles supply chain is need of radical innovation and advancement. The ACT project is not starting from scratch. Nascent variations of automated sorting approaches are coming to the market from around the globe, with most of the new innovations happening in Europe including in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain, among others. This project will innovate, combine and advance existing and new supporting technologies to overcome the current market failure by bringing together the most relevant optical sorting technologies, robotics, conveyance and pre-processing techniques into an industrial scale process with development of an Automated Textile Sorting and Pre-processing facility (**ATSP**), solely for NRT of all types. In addition, the project will trial and integrate digital and circularity technologies and services which will be required by brands/retailers, including blockchain and transparency services, product passports and life cycle analyses for the ecosystem. The trials and learnings, from a circular systems perspective, will enable businesses to proactively prepare for new legislation. We envision the outcome from this project, and laying the foundations for a scaled ATSP facility, to unlock real commercial opportunities for all companies actively engaged in accelerating circular supply chains.

Over 14million tonnes of microplastics have accumulated on the world's ocean floor, and between 200,000 and 500,000 tonnes from textiles enter marine environments annually (European Environment Agency). Nanoloom was created to address this issue with a viable replacement for the **current state-of-the-art** high-performing textiles like nylon and elastane. Nanoloom have developed biodegradable and recyclable fibres and fabrics for apparel from a novel graphene-based polymer, BioHastalex(r). Our materials are customisable and can be manufactured to be extremely strong, flexible, lightweight and breathable, moreso than any other material currently commercially available. Our project is to work with experts from the University of Leeds and the Royal College of Art to optimise and commercially to scale-up the production of a range of fibres and fabrics for the performance-wear sector (sportswear, outdoor-wear, winter-wear), and scale it so that it is ready for use in end-products on the markets with our partner brands in this space, such as Pangaia. Pangaia is an innovative, fast-growing apparel brand changing the face of the apparel industry by creating cutting-edge clothing that is eco-friendly. As part of the project, Pangaia will work with the team to create a prototype item of apparel incorporating the new graphene-based fibres and fabric that can then be produced in larger quantities and launched on the market.