Axens / Jeplan: validation of a polyester textile recycling demonstrator in Japan

Axens, a subsidiary of IFPEN (IFP Energies Nouvelles) dedicated to decarbonisation and circularity solutions, and its partner Jeplan, a Japanese company specialising in PET recycling, have announced the successful completion of an industrial test for recycling polyester (PET)-rich textile waste using their Rewind PET technology on 21/04/2026.

Several dozen tonnes of European post-consumer textile waste, sorted and prepared in France by two partners in the project, Nouvelles Fibres Textiles and Mapea, formed the feedstock needed to produce several dozen tonnes of BHET, the basic monomer of polyester, which will then be transformed into polyester yarns and fabrics.

The processing took place in Japan, in the semi-industrial unit of Axens, Ifpen and Jeplan (1000 t/year capacity), at the Kitakyushu Hibikinada site, operated by Jeplan.

The Rewind PET technology, based on glycolysis, had already been demonstrated and marketed for the recycling of all PET packaging since October 2024, including for food contact applications. It has now been validated for textile applications and can now be…