Everyday materials such as polymers and textiles are based on petrochemicals, making them non-biodegradable and causing accumulation of microplastic in the environment. Our technology offers a more natural, biological and intrinsically sustainable alternative. 

With Solena Materials, Insempra has invested in the development of synthetic proteins for high-performance fibers to help businesses develop more sustainable products in a multitude of industries from fashion apparel to medical textiles.  

Insempra will accelerate the development and production of these synthetic proteins on an industrial scale, offering better, biobased solutions to the petrochemically sourced, non-biodegradable materials or fibers extracted from nature or animals such as silk, currently used in the textile and clothing industries. This technology also reduces other environmental impacts such as the rise of microplastics in our water, oceans and food chains coming from washing polyester and other petrochemically-sourced textiles.

Using computational design, machine learning and automation to accelerate development, we develop new protein-based fibers, which will replace materials extracted from nature, such as silk and petrochemically-derived materials such as polyester, to create a new world of biodegradable, functional and sustainable smart materials for consumers, industry, and the planet. 

The technology was invented by James MacDonald at Imperial College in London in partnership with Prof. Paul Freemont and Prof. Milo Shaffer.