From the Sector

SGL Carbon and X-energy announced a binding agreement to double SGL’s production capacity for medium-grain isotropic graphite (“NBG-18”), a specialized material central to X-energy’s Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. X-energy and SGL Carbon’s agreement would expand the supply chain for a critical long-lead material, supporting execution of X-energy’s commercial pipeline.

Under the agreement, X-energy will invest up to $8 million in milestone-based payments to support new facilities and equipment upgrades at SGL’s site in Chedde, France, enabling the facility to produce graphite billets for up to eight new Xe-100 reactors per year. SGL Carbon has concurrently agreed to expand U.S. capacity for machining of billets into graphite blocks, helping to ensure greater supply chain continuity for a safety-critical material. Full execution would double European manufacturing capacity for NBG-18 by 2030, with additional capacity investments under consideration across multiple regions to further debottleneck initial billet production.

The expansion builds on a 10-year Supplier Framework Agreement established in January 2026, which included an initial three-year award valued at over $100 million for X-energy’s first commercial projects. The first NBG-18 graphite blocks produced under this award at SGL’s site in Chedde have since been shipped to SGL sites in the United States, for machining into components. This follows a successful prototyping campaign which began earlier this year, consisting of non-nuclear testing and validation at X-energy’s Technology and Advancement Center in Frederick, Maryland (USA) in advance of final production.

“Commercializing new nuclear at scale rests first and foremost on our ability to significantly expand the new nuclear supply chain, a challenge that extends beyond any one company, supplier, or nation,” said J. Clay Sell, CEO of X-energy. “We look forward to driving this work forward with SGL, and to engaging with potential partners who share our bold vision for a robust, resilient, U.S. and allied nuclear supply chain.”

“By jointly expanding our production capacity for nuclear-grade graphite, we are reinforcing the importance of our partnership and ensuring reliable supply to X-energy. For SGL Carbon, this agreement is a strategically important step that strengthens our position in the highly specialized growth market for nuclear-grade graphite, underscores the importance of our graphite expertise for safety-critical applications, and opens up attractive opportunities for further growth,” said Andreas Klein, CEO of SGL Carbon.

NBG-18 is a nuclear-grade graphite central to the Xe-100 design, functioning as a neutron moderator, and a structural component of the pebble-bed core. The material was first developed for South Africa's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor program, and later the U.S. Department of Energy's (“DOE”) Next Generation Nuclear Plant project, two direct predecessors to X-energy’s Xe-100. Through these, X-energy’s and SGL Carbon’s own initiatives, NBG-18 has undergone extensive qualification work for commercial nuclear operation, gathering operational data that helps to validate the material’s performance over decades of high-temperature operation.

Initial NBG-18 production is intended to support X-energy’s first commercial deployment of the Xe-100 reactor, a proposed four-unit plant in partnership with Dow Chemical Company under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), with additional capacity secured for follow-on projects to support manufacturing readiness for safety-critical, long-lead materials. SGL Carbon’s and X-energy’s partnership is part of a growing, diversified portfolio of experienced suppliers supporting Xe-100 deployment, as well as the continued development of a global industrial supply chain.

Circ announced that the first men's denim collection featuring TENCEL™ | Circ® with REFIBRA™ technology is now available at H&M, marking the commercial delivery of this unique pilot project first announced in October 2025. Featuring two styles available across the UK, Scandinavia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, South Europe, Turkey, North America, Mexico, Canada, and the Middle East, the launch brings TENCEL™ | Circ® with REFIBRA™ technology into H&M's standard men's denim assortment for the first time.

The collection explores a fully integrated supply chain approach from textile waste to pulp to shelf, bringing together Circ’s textile-to-textile recycling technology, Lenzing’s fiber production expertise, AGI Denim’s manufacturing capabilities, and H&M’s global retail platform. Each garment contains TENCEL™ Limited Edition Lyocell fibers produced with 30% Circ® pulp recycled from textile waste.

"This launch is proof that recycled textile fiber is ready for mass-market supply chains," said Peter Majeranowski, CEO of Circ. "Seeing TENCEL™ | Circ® with REFIBRA™ technology in H&M's standard men's denim assortment is a milestone the industry has been working toward. It validates that next-generation recycled materials can move through existing supply chains at the quality that global retail demands."

“This collaboration highlights that by bringing together players of all steps across the textile supply chain will result in circular garments available to consumers. We are proud to work with pioneers like Circ to showcase innovation on a pilot production level, making fibers available for commercial garments. We continue to keep our commitment to exploring collaborations with innovators, bringing new TENCEL™ fibers on the market via pilot-scale productions.” explains Caroline Ledl, Senior Director Product Operations at Lenzing Group.

The two-style collection, available in both light and dark wash denim, is the result of a collaboration between Circ and Lenzing to integrate advanced textile recycling into fiber production, demonstrating a path to scale up. Circ's recycling technology separates blended textile waste, including cotton-polyester garments that have historically been unable to be recycled, into two material streams: dissolving pulp and polyester monomers. The resulting Circ pulp is fed into Lenzing's lyocell production process alongside wood from certified or controlled sources, yielding a fiber that carries both the TENCEL™ brand and the REFIBRA™ technology designation, Lenzing's framework for incorporating pre- and post-consumer textile waste into new fiber.

Thiscollaborative project between a legacy sustainable fiber producer and a next-generation textile-to-textile recycler — with H&M as the retail partner bringing it to shelf — reflects a model that advocates have long argued is the most viable path to scaling circular textiles: incumbent infrastructure and emerging technology working in concert, rather than in parallel.

As the latest company to join TMAS – the Swedish Textile Machinery Association – ReSpin has this year established what is just the latest in a succession of Swedish innovations shaping the country into one of Europe’s most sophisticated ecosystems for circular textiles. 

In May this year, Holma Spinning Mill, located in Forsa just outside Hudiksvall, was granted SEK 77.3 million in funding through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency to establish Sweden’s first industrial spinning line for recycled textile fibres. Holma Spinning Mill is part of Holma Förvaltning, which is co-owned by ReSpin. Sister company Holma Helsingland brings more than a century of experience in spinning, twisting, dyeing and yarn production.

RespinJenny
ReSpin, headquartered in Undersåker, in northern Sweden’s Jämtland, has developed and patented a new mechanical recycling technology called RespinJenny which transforms textile waste into new fibres suitable for yarn production. 

ReSpin was founded in 2020 by Åsa Strandberg, who has more than 30 years of experience in the textile industry and for the past 15 years has been on a mission to make textiles circular. After 17 years at H&M, she chose to leave the company when growing concerns about the environmental impact of the fashion industry grew too big to  be ignored. In 2010 she launched Saiboo, a company which has a focus on the B2B production of garments, selling them and then taking them back for reuse. 

With full control over materials and design, the difficult sorting problem was solved for Saiboo from the start, and driven by the desire to push the industry further, Åsa began collaborating with Mid Sweden University in Östersund on how to design for recycling.
Soon, however, a more fundamental problem became clear – there were no viable recycling methods available on the market. Chemical initiatives were emerging and mechanical recycling existed, but only at very low level.

“While many believed chemistry was the solution, I saw untapped potential in mechanical methods and a remark from a machine researcher that anything which can be done by hand can be done mechanically became the spark that confirmed this direction,” she explains. “I then initiated several research projects together with industry and academia, including the Universities of Borås, Linköping and Luleå, to further explore this idea.”

“RespinJenny uses no water or chemicals, has low energy consumption and is based on preserving as much fibre quality as possible from waste textiles,” adds TMAS Secretary General Therese Premler-Andersson. “It is designed to enable local, small scale and resource efficient recycling closer to where textile waste is generated. The the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s funding is an important step in scaling fibre-to-fibre recycling industrially and demonstrating that circular textile materials can be produced on a larger scale with low climate impact.

“Mechanical recycling alone is not enough to achieve textile-to-textile recycling – without the ability to spin recycled fibres into yarn, it is impossible to weave or knit new fabrics, which is why Holma Spinning Mill represents a key part of building a complete circular textile value chain.” 

Rather than focusing on a single breakthrough technology, Swedish companies, including TMAS members, have developed expertise across the entire value chain – from collection and automated sorting through to fibre-to-fibre recycling, testing, product development and policy research.

Underpinning this, has been strong collaboration between Swedish industry and academia.

“The University of Borås – and particularly its Swedish School of Textiles –has become one of Europe’s leading centres for circular textile research and Borås is also home to a number of other TMAS members, such as the ACG Group and Eton Systems, who are driving innovation through advanced automation and involved in many cooperative projects between industry and academia in Sweden,” Therese Premler-Andersson observes.

In conclusion, Åsa Strandberg stresses the great value in now being part of a network where knowledge, innovation and collaboration are central.

“TMAS brings together many of Sweden’s leading companies and experts, all playing an important role in shaping the future of textile production technology,” she says. “As ReSpin moves towards industrialisation, we see great value in joining TMAS, because the transition to circular textile systems requires cooperation across the entire value chain, and the association provides an important platform for that dialogue.”

INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, in collaboration with Nonwovens Industry Magazine, is now accepting nominations for the 2027 IDEA® Achievement Awards. 

The IDEA Achievement Awards recognize outstanding innovations, technical advancements, and leadership across the nonwovens and engineered materials industry. Industry professionals are invited to submit their company’s most innovative products, materials, equipment, and sustainability advancements—or nominate innovations on behalf of their clients—for consideration. 

Presented every three years in conjunction with IDEA®, the IDEA Achievement Awards honor breakthrough developments introduced since IDEA®25. Winners will be announced during IDEA®27, taking place March 23-25, 2027, at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Award categories include: 

• Raw Materials – Best new raw materials introduction 
• Nonwoven Product – Best new nonwoven fabric introduction 
• Short-Life – Best new short-life product introduction 
• Long-Life – Best new durable product introduction  
• Equipment – Best new equipment introduction 
• Sustainability Advancement – Recognizing sustainability and/or circularity advancements in raw materials, nonwoven fabrics, processes and equipment, and end-use products 

Entries must be submitted by November 8, 2026. Finalists in each category will be selected by INDA’s Technical Advisory Board, with the top three entries in each category advancing to the final round. Industry professionals will then vote for the winners through the Nonwovens Industry website. The recipient of the Entrepreneur Award will be selected exclusively by Nonwovens Industry Magazine. 

The 2025 IDEA Achievement Award winners were: 

• Equipment: Dilo Systems GmbH – MicroPunch 
• Raw Materials: Woolchemy NZ Ltd. – neweFibre 
• Short-Life Product: Egal Pads, Inc. – Pads on a Roll 
• Long-Life Product: Magnera – Sontara EcoRE Bag 
• Sustainability Advancement: Kindcloth – KINDCLOTH™ PURA HEALTH Insect Repellent – Water Dissolvable Wipes 
• Nonwoven Product: Innovatec Microfibre Technology GmbH & Co. KG – InnovaWipe® Water Soluble Nonwoven 
• Entrepreneur: Dude Products 

IDEA27 will feature hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations in nonwoven and fiber technologies. The RISE® Conference will be held in conjunction with IDEA27 and will feature scalable, demonstrated solutions designed to address complex technical challenges and pressing societal needs, from sustainability and circularity to healthcare, energy, and advanced manufacturing. IDEA27 attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in expert-led nonwoven short courses designed to expand industry knowledge and technical expertise. 

Kornit Digital Ltd., a pioneer in sustainable, on-demand digital fashion and textile production, announced that USColorworks, a North Carolina-based apparel decoration and fulfillment company specializing in custom and on-demand printing for retail and promotional markets, has expanded its Kornit digital production platform with the addition of Atlas MATRIX and Atlas MAX PLUS systems to deliver high-quality, on-demand apparel across cotton, blended fabrics and polyester. 

Among the first companies to adopt Kornit's new Atlas MATRIX direct-to-garment (DTG) solution, USColorworks is leveraging its ability to deliver the highest quality output across all fabric types, including polyester, projecting a 30% increase in apparel and textile production for all on-demand orders. By reducing operational complexity and opening new revenue streams, Atlas MATRIX enables true on-demand manufacturing without compromising quality, durability, or efficiency. The scalable platform also allows USColorworks to bypass large inventory stocking in favor of fast, direct-to-customer shipping, producing high-definition, high-quality prints on demand across a boundless range of fabrics and colors. 

USColorworks is replacing its legacy production systems with Atlas MATRIX, unifying custom order production—whether for 1 piece or 1,000—to accelerate turnaround times, reduce labor costs, eliminate pre-treatment, and deliver a superior hand feel.  At the same time, USColorworks is reducing its reliance on the more labor-intensive direct-to-film (DTF) workflow, previously its method for short-run polyester print-on demand jobs, by transitioning those volumes to Kornit infrastructure. 

“Digital production has dramatically increased our competitiveness and revenue," said Rodney McDonald, President of USColorworks. "I don't believe you can win a national program now without having the ability to handle both bulk items and on-demand orders. Digital is the only way to do it all right—managing both large and small orders in the same process. As speed, accuracy, and consistency are critical, the Atlas MATRIX system is the right solution at the right time, and it has led to an immediate and significant increase in volume from retail customers. We see this new platform leading the way for print-on-demand across our entire business." 

“When we officially unveiled the Atlas MATRIX system at Kornit Konnections this past April, our intent was clear – enable brands and producers to embrace digital production for what has now become the on-demand era. Kornit is delivering on that promise with the new Atlas MATRIX system, which is already producing tangible results at some of our leading customers,” said Chris Carson, Vice President of Sales at Kornit North America. “We’re proud USColorworks has chosen to expand their digital production capabilities with Atlas MATRIX, thus removing production limitations and firmly embracing digital as the new standard for apparel production.”