Syre, a leading textile recycling startup, has raised $100 million in Series A funding to accelerate its mission of decarbonizing the textile industry. The Sweden-based company focuses on scaling textile-to-textile polyester recycling to reduce the industry’s reliance on virgin polyester, a material that accounts for 80% of synthetic fiber use globally. Syre aims to transform the textile supply chain by enabling infinite recyclability of polyester garments.
“Our goal is to show that a true shift in the textile industry can be done fast and at scale,” said Emma Stjernlöf, Syre’s Chief Communications and People Officer. “By implementing textile-to-textile recycling at hyperscale globally, we aim to decouple polyester production from fossil fuels.”
In addition to the funding, Syre has secured a landmark $600 million offtake agreement with H&M Group, which will source a significant portion of its future recycled polyester from Syre over the next seven years. This collaboration underscores the urgent need for circular solutions in the fashion and textile sectors, which are major contributors to global CO₂ emissions.
The company’s proprietary technology, acquired through the integration of North Carolina-based Premirr, employs chemical depolymerization to break down polyester waste into a raw material called BHET. This is then re-polymerized into PET, creating high-quality polyester that matches the performance of virgin material, making it suitable for reuse in new garments.
Syre’s growth plans are ambitious: the company is constructing its first production plant in North Carolina, set to begin operations later this year with a 10,000-metric-ton capacity. By 2025, Syre aims to build additional gigascale plants in Vietnam and Iberia, each with a 250,000-metric-ton capacity. By 2032, the company targets 10–12 plants across North America, Europe, and Asia, aiming for 3 million metric tons of recycled polyester production annually, which could help abate over 15 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions.
“We are creating a plug-and-play solution for the existing polyester supply chain, enabling quick adoption with no switching costs for industries already dependent on polyester,” explained Stjernlöf.
Backed by major investors including TPG Rise Climate, H&M Group, Volvo, and Norrsken VC, Syre plans to expand beyond polyester, with the potential to recycle other fibers in the future, contributing to a truly circular economy in textiles.
“Pairing our capital with Syre’s world-class team and technology positions us to scale rapidly and significantly decarbonize the textile industry,” said Joerg Metzner, Partner at TPG Rise Climate.
