From packaging and clothing to upholstery and sportswear, synthetic textiles have become inseparable from modern life – yet their environmental cost is immense. Less than one percent of plastic-based fabrics are ever recycled, with the rest ending up in landfill, incinerators or the ocean.
Founded in 2021 as a University of Cambridge spin-out, Evoralis is tackling this global waste challenge head-on. Combining enzyme engineering, synthetic biology, and microfluidic high-throughput screening, the company is unlocking new ways to recycle complex textile blends, transforming polymers like nylon, polyester, and polyurethane back into their reusable building blocks.
With a mission to build a circular textiles economy, Evoralis is developing the world’s first enzyme platform capable of depolymerising mixed-fibre waste – including garments that contain multiple materials and dyes – without harsh chemicals or separation steps.
Evoralis’s breakthrough lies in its ultra-fast enzyme discovery and evolution platform, which can screen more than ten million enzyme variants every day. Using microfluidic chips and advanced bioinformatics, the platform identifies and optimises enzymes that can break down real plastics, not just model compounds.
This approach enables the team to design tailored enzymes for the most common synthetic fibres used in textiles – nylon, PET (polyester), and polyurethane – as well as tackle contamination and colourant residues that typically prevent recycling.
By converting waste textiles back into virgin-quality monomers and even recovering natural cotton fibres, Evoralis offers a route to true circularity in the textile industry, where materials can be reused again and again without loss of quality or performance.
(second close, January 2025)
(first close, September 2024)
(August 2025)
“UK Innovation Science Seed Fund (Managed by Future Planet Capital), has helped us move from a promising scientific platform to a scale-up trajectory. Their investment gives us the momentum to turn advanced enzyme science into real industrial impact at scale.”
“We’re thrilled to have been able to join this investment round for Evoralis. The company is at an exciting point of delivering customer-interfacing proof of concept of their unique high-throughput approach to screening and identifying novel enzymes for the breakdown of contaminated plastics that dominate the textiles industry. I’ve worked closely with the team in the lead up to and since our investment and get more excited every time I hear of their progress. I’m particularly excited to back two fantastic female founders from Cambridge”.
UKI2S is proud to support Evoralis on its mission to redefine how plastics and textiles are recycled. Beyond providing crucial capital, UKI2S’s backing helped the company attract co-investment, strengthen its intellectual property strategy, and accelerate its move into purpose-built labs at Co-Labs Cambridge. This early-stage support is helping de-risk the development of an enzyme platform that could have profound environmental and economic benefits.
Through the investment, Evoralis is now well positioned to secure demonstration contracts, paid research collaborations, and industrial licensing opportunities – advancing the UK’s leadership in sustainable materials innovation.
As the fashion and textile sectors face mounting pressure to decarbonise and eliminate waste, Evoralis’s technology represents a breakthrough pathway to achieving true circularity at scale. By merging deep science with practical engineering, the company is building the foundations of a new materials economy – one in which synthetic fibres never become waste, but instead serve as renewable raw materials for the products of tomorrow.
With the continued support of UKI2S and its partners, Evoralis is setting a new standard for how biotechnology can power a cleaner, more resilient and regenerative industrial future.
© UKI2S and Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited. All Rights Reserved. UKI2S is managed by Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited which is Authorised and Regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 148549. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number 2500898. Registered Address: Future Planet Capital (Ventures) Limited, 1 Scott Place, 2 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3AA.
