Münster, 29.04.2025 – German tech startup eeden, which has developed a groundbreaking textile recycling technology, announces the completion of its €18 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Forbion, a leading venture capital firm based in The Netherlands, through its BioEconomy Fund. Also joining as new investors are Henkel Ventures, the strategic venture capital fund of Henkel, with deep expertise in surface and coating technologies through its consumer and industrial business, and NRW.Venture, the Venture Fund of NRW.BANK, North Rhine-Westphalia´s development bank. All existing investors reinvested in the round, including the venture capital investors TechVision Fund (TVF), High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and D11Z. Ventures – the early-stage investment arm of the family office of Dieter Schwarz. The funding will enable eeden to build its demonstration plant in Münster, optimize large-scale processing, and establish commercial projects with key players in the textile industry.
Steffen Gerlach (CEO & Co-Founder) & Dr. Tobias Börnhost (CTO & Co-Founder) of eeden. (Photo © eeden)
A major step toward circularity
Ongoing challenges including rising costs, scarcity of resources, material volatility, and growing regulatory hurdles continue to strain the textile industry. To remain competitive, brands and manufacturers are increasingly looking for textile materials that combine high performance, scalability, and circularity at price parity. eeden addresses this need with its breakthrough in chemical recycling technology that recovers pure cellulose and PET building blocks (monomers) from cotton-polyester blends. Their products can be used to produce virgin-quality lyocell, viscose, and polyester fibers thereby offering a resource-efficient alternative to conventional fibers and unlocking new circular value chains.
Steffen Gerlach, CEO & Co-Founder of eeden: “Over the past few years, we have developed a proven solution that has the potential to meet the industry’s long-term need for cost-efficient and high-performing circular materials. We are proud that our new and existing investors believe in our approach and share our vision. With their support, we are ready to scale our technology and turn textile waste into materials the industry truly needs.”
With increasing textile waste comes increased regulation. As of January 2025, EU member states are required to implement separate collection systems for used textiles. eeden’s technology provides a pragmatic solution that is capable of processing complex blended materials.
Alex Hoffmann, General Partner at Forbion noted, “eeden has developed a pioneering solution that can make large-scale textile recycling not only technologically feasible, but also commercially viable in the near future. We see tremendous potential in their approach and are excited to support the team as they bring this breakthrough technology to industrial scale.”
Björn Lang, Partner TVF, “As an early investor, it’s great to see how the team has turned a vision into a validated process and strong strategic partnerships. The progress they’ve made shows what’s possible when the right people and strong science meet real customer needs. We’re excited to keep backing the team as they scale their impact.”
The new eeden demonstration facility in Münster, Germany follows the successful technology validation of its pilot plant with industrial partners. This €18 million Series A financing will enable the company to optimize large-scale processing and establish commercial projects with key players in the textile industry.
ENDS
About eeden
About Forbion
About Henkel Ventures
About NRW.Venture
About TVF
About D11Z. Ventures
About HTGF – High-Tech Gründerfonds
Press Contact: Julian Hertrampf, [email protected], +49 251 2979 3366
- eeden – Series A – l. Steffen Gerlach, CEO & Co-Founder – r. Dr. Tobias Börnhost, CTO & Co-Founder
