Nanollose extends on “major milestone” after client wins

Australian biotech company Nanollose is extending on the successful completion of fabric production through both Paradise Textiles and denim producer Orta, achieved in Q4 2022.

Orta supplies major international brands including Armani, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant as well as Levi's, Wrangler and H&M, through a reported total production capacity of 40 million metres of denim.

Orta manufactured sample denim fabrics containing 12% the company’s Nullarbor-20 fibre and transformed some of this into pairs of jeans.

In the last quarter, Paradise Textiles also converted 135 kilograqms of Nanollose’s Nullarbor-20 fibre into several types of yarn and subsequently knit yarns into a variety of fabrics.

Paradise is the material science and innovation hub of the Alpine Group, a global end-to-end textile and apparel manufacturing leader.

Both Orta and Nanollose are seeking to pursue additional collaboration opportunities with increased volumes.

Nanollose executive chairman Dr Wayne Best said the successful production from both Orta and Paradise represented a major milestone for the company.

“It also highlights the versatility of Nullarbor-20, being used across a range of different fabrics including denim, Single Jerseys, a French Terry and a Double Pique in various colour formats.

“Manufacturing was also followed by stringent industry testing, which resulted in very positive feedback. This reiterates the high quality of the company’s fibre and its ability to fit seamlessly into current industrial fabric making equipment.”

Best said business development to extend the company’s footprint remains a key focus over the next few months.

“As sustainability becomes a key concern for many large manufacturers, the company is exceptionally placed to capitalise.”

During the last quarter, Nanollose continued to work closely with its partner Hainan Guangyu Biotechnology to refine the specifications of microbial cellulose. The company said this resulted in reduced levels of trace elements, which will enable fibre spins with increased microbial cellulose content at pilot scale.

The next pilot spin is now expected to take place in February 2022, with Nanollose saying this will provide important technical information and can help progress ongoing projects with existing collaborators and new partners. It is also expected to generate the first revenues for the company.

Meanwhile, Nanollose continued to develop leather-like material from microbial cellulose. In January, the Company received an order of $36,000 for a custom-made, laboratory scale batch of material.

Nanollose is a biotechnology company commercialising scalable technology to create fibres with minimal environmental impact. Nanollose uses an eco-friendly fermentation process to grow fibres that could become a sustainable alternative to conventional plant-derived cellulose fibres.