Solena Materials has partnered with The Protein Express to bring high-performance, novel protein fibres to market at scale. Delivered through the EXPREST project, the collaboration combines Solena’s AI-driven protein design with The Protein Express’s advanced fermentation technology to enable scalable, commercially viable production, positioning protein-based textiles as an entirely new category for the global textile market.

Under EXPREST, the partners will advance the development and industrial scale-up of a novel fermented protein fibre. Central to this is The Protein Express’s proprietary fermentation platform, which enables cost-efficient, large-scale production, paired with Solena’s computationally designed protein sequences engineered for targeted performance across luxury and technical textile applications.

The project will deliver a protein fibre optimised for low-cost expression, alongside an efficient production and downstream purification process designed for scalability. It will also generate validated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) data, in addition to EU REACH regulation standards, supporting future regulatory alignment and commercial readiness.

The 32-month project has received €1.4 million in funding from the Eureka network’s Eurostars programme, supporting collaborative R&D across Europe.

The global textiles industry relies heavily on petrochemical-derived synthetics and resource-intensive natural fibres, both of which present significant environmental challenges. While protein-based materials offer an alternative, their commercialisation has been constrained by high production costs and complex processing requirements. Through project EXPREST, Solena Materials and The Protein Express come together to tackle these issues, facilitating the commercialisation of high-performance fibres across the global textile industry.

As lead partner, Solena Materials uses AI and computational design to develop de novo protein sequences that can be precisely tuned at the molecular level for targeted performance characteristics. Within this project, these designs are paired with The Protein Express’s advanced production system to enable scalable, economically viable manufacturing. It enables a more streamlined pathway to industrial-scale production, a critical factor for adoption across UK and European manufacturing ecosystems.

The resulting fibre of EXPREST is being developed for textile markets, with an initial focus on performance and premium apparel, where performance and material innovation are key. More broadly, the project is intended to support the development of a scalable, bio-based materials platform capable of reducing reliance on fossil-derived inputs across the textile value chain.

Dr James MacDonald, Co-Founder and CEO of Solena Materials, comments:

“We are delighted to be working with The Protein Express/BioscienZ on EXPREST. 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.”

Wim De Laat, Founder of The Protein Express/BioscienZ, comments:

“After 40 years in industrial fermentation, I've witnessed many innovations, but this project stands out as both technically and commercially exceptional. 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”.

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