Australian biotech firm Samsara Eco has opened its first plant aimed at producing virgin-identical, low-carbon circular materials like recycled nylon 6,6 and polyester, with broad applications across apparel, packaging and automotives.
Located in Jerrabomberra, in south eastern New South Wales, the new headquarters and plant houses EosEco, Samsara Eco’s enzymatic recycling technology.
According to Samsara, the technology uses AI-crafted enzymes to break down mixed plastics destined for landfill into recycled raw materials, ready for brands to incorporate into their next product line.
The facility also houses expanded enzyme production facilities, allowing Samsara Eco to further build out its proprietary AI-powered enzyme discovery and development platform to find recycling solutions for a broader range of plastics.
“The opening of Jerrabomberra is a proud milestone for us and the broader circular economy,” Samsara Eco founder and CEO Paul Riley said. “In just four years, we’ve scaled from bench research through to pilot, demonstration, and now our first plant. This is a true tipping point for circularity, shifting circular materials from early-stage innovation to mainstream reality.”
Riley added that brand demand and supportive new regulations are helping to clear the path forward for his business. “Our new facility will help brands deliver circularity with the capacity to produce the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of garments annually.”
The circular materials made at Jerrabomberra will feature in upcoming product lines for global brands like Lululemon, as well as pilot programs and trials with brands across textiles, automotive and packaging.
The facility will also host world-first research, including finding recycling solutions for the likes of spandex with The LYCRA Company, and a collaboration with Deakin University’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub, part of the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program.
Citing third-party research, Samsara noted that only 10 per cent of plastics are recycled and less than 1 per cent of textiles are recycled into new textiles. Riley said the new plant will help scale a circular future where materials don’t have an end-of-life, and instead are infinitely recycled, reducing the world’s reliance on finite resources.
Jerrabomberra also provides a runway for Samsara Eco’s first nylon 6,6 commercial plant, which is being designed with engineering partner KBR and is due to open in Asia in 2028. The 20,000-tonne facility will be the first in a fleet of international commercial facilities, which will use Samsara Eco’s EosEco technology to turn waste into virgin-identical raw materials.
“We're creating an entirely new industry to unlock major export opportunities and bring new skills to market, while also helping to position Australia as a leader in circular technology and a global exporter of circular materials.”
Riley also thanked the support from Samsara’s global investors, including Main Sequence and Temasek, as well as from the local community.
A consortium of Samsara Eco’s investors commented on the milestone, including Greycroft principal Carley Phillips, Hitachi Ventures associate Jan Marchewski and Main Sequence partner Phil Morle.
“We’ve been deeply impressed by Samsara Eco’s ability to deliver every milestone on time and on budget – an extraordinary achievement for a deep tech company,” Marchewski said.
“The opening of the Jerrabomberra facility is a powerful testament to the team’s execution excellence. This hub will enable Samsara Eco to test AI-discovered enzymes at scale in collaboration with partners, further cementing its market leadership in enzymatic recycling.”