Senbis to Stop Microplastic Pollution from Clothing with Biodegradable Polyester, Enhanced by AI

Each year, 30 million tons of polyester are produced worldwide for clothing. Through washing and wear, much of it releases microplastics into the environment, ending up in oceans, fish, food, and ultimately, our bodies. Senbis’s BIOTTEK project seeks to create a biodegradable alternative to polyester for clothing to address this widespread pollution. Collaborating with a consortium including the University of Groningen (RUG), NHL Stenden University, Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WUR), and TNO, the consortium has invested €6.6 million in developing a biodegradable polyester. Last October, the project received €3.3 million in funding through the EU's Just Transition Fund (JTF).

Affordable Alternative

“Polyester is the most commonly used material in clothing, and its demand is growing, creating a global issue,” says Senbis Director Gerard Nijhoving. “Our main goal is to find a solution to the plastic pollution from microplastics.” Existing bioplastics on the market cannot replace polyester in textile applications, and while cotton is a biobased alternative, it requires significant water and pesticide usage, making it less sustainable. A new, highly scalable polymer is needed to match polyester’s price point, enabling it to meet massive market demands.

AI Accelerates Development

Creating and scaling a new polymer is time-consuming and requires patience. Nijhoving points to Avantium, a Dutch company that has spent two decades working on plant-based plastic alternatives and is only now building a large factory for FDCA, a raw material for PEF. To speed up the process, Senbis is leveraging AI in partnership with TNO, which uses AI algorithms to identify suitable bioplastics. Currently, scientists rely on their knowledge and trial-and-error methods to innovate, but AI can process extensive data and recognize correlations that humans might miss. By feeding the AI model with known polymers and their properties, Senbis can use AI to suggest new structures with the desired characteristics.

A Groundbreaking Approach

With AI, Senbis can determine much faster if a material resembles polyester, is biodegradable, and is economically feasible to produce. The request to TNO came at the perfect time, as the research institute had just started exploring AI’s potential for new materials development. “Using AI to develop a new type of bioplastic is unprecedented in the industry. If successful, we won’t only have a new bioplastic but also a method for accelerating future innovations,” Nijhoving explains.

Faster Scaling

Senbis Polymer Innovations, the company’s official name, has long focused on reducing plastic pollution. The company develops biodegradable plastics for fishing nets, agricultural ropes, and synthetic turf. Originally an R&D division of AkzoNobel, Senbis develops materials in its R&D labs and licenses their production to existing factories instead of building new ones, saving time and money and facilitating quick scalability.

Specialized Expertise

The BIOTTEK consortium partners contribute unique expertise to the research. “We brought them together for their unique expertise,” Nijhoving says. Senbis leads the research, while TNO provides AI support, and RUG’s chemistry faculty offers significant lab capacity and research personnel. NHL Stenden studies recyclability, and WUR examines biodegradability through bacteria and fungi testing in specialized reactors, saving time by testing multiple samples simultaneously.

Market Entry by 2030

Promising materials for biopolyester have already been identified. Nijhoving expects that by the end of 2025, BIOTTEK will have selected the first candidates to test for spinning quality. Following the BIOTTEK project, further research will focus on scaling production and refining the biopolyester for clothing. Senbis aims to license large-scale production by 2030, providing an affordable and scalable biopolymer.

Green Chemistry Accelerator

Senbis recently participated in the Green Chemistry Accelerator (GCA) program of Groene Chemie Nieuwe Economie (GCNE), which supports startups in scaling green chemistry innovations. Although Senbis is more advanced than typical startups, it shares a similar goal of rapid scaling.

Innovation Funnel

Senbis uses an “innovation funnel” to manage and prioritize numerous project ideas, assessing technical feasibility, market potential, and patent issues, with guidance from the GCA. This model has helped refine its R&D process, allowing Senbis to pursue only the most viable projects.

This article was also published on Change Inc., written by André Oerlemans, as part of a series on Groene Chemie Nieuwe Economie.