RTI International, LOOM Carbon announce research collaboration

RTI International, an independent scientific research institute, and LOOM Carbon have announced a strategic research collaboration. The partnership will enable the scaling of LOOM’s proprietary thermal chemical recycling platform, which turns non-recycled and hard-to-recycle textile waste into sustainable carbon-neutral materials.

LOOM Carbon’s process converts mixed and contaminated textiles into outputs, including:

• Circular pigments and materials that replace fossil-derived inputs in textiles, coatings and plastics
• Carbon materials that can be integrated into cement, asphalt, and composites, supporting infrastructure decarbonization
• Excess thermal energy that powers operations efficiently, reducing reliance on external sources

“Together with RTI, Loom is demonstrating that blended textile waste can be recycled into valuable resources,” says Kimberly Landry, CEO of LOOM Carbon. “This collaboration moves us from pilot to commercial readiness, proving textile waste is a resource, not a liability.”

This project will take place at RTI’s Pilot Xcelerator facility, which helps startups, commercial partners and government-funded teams scale technologies.

“We are proud to leverage RTI’s world-class Pilot Xcelerator facility as well as our expertise in process engineering and emissions validation to help accelerate a proven, scalable solution to textile waste,” says David C. Dayton, Ph.D., senior fellow and director of biofuels at RTI International. “Together, we aim to deliver real, sustainable benefits as this technology moves toward commercial deployment.”

The 12-month program will focus on scaling LOOM’s system to process challenging textile waste streams, validating product quality and preparing for commercial deployment. This initiative will target the processing of millions of tons of textile waste annually in Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and other markets with emerging textile stewardship regulations. Industry partners interested in feedstock supply or offtake agreements are invited to contact LOOM Carbon.