HeiQ secures investment from MAS Holdings to revolutionize sustainable textiles

10.07.2023 16:12, Rita Longobardi

HeiQ, a leading innovator in sustainable textile solutions, has announced a significant investment from MAS Holdings, a global apparel and textile manufacturing and tech conglomerate based in Sri Lanka. This strategic partnership, formed under MAS Holdings' Plan for Change initiative, is set to propel the development of HeiQ AeoniQ™, a breakthrough technology that aims to transform the textile industry by replacing polyester and nylon with next-generation cellulosic filament fibers.

With the investment, MAS Holdings becomes the first manufacturer to partner with HeiQ AeoniQ™ in their efforts to provide a sustainable alternative to polyester and nylon. The investment to be made by MAS Holdings is part of the group’s strategy to drive a positive environmental impact. The MAS Plan for Change aims to generate 50% of the company’s revenue through sustainable products by 2025, revolutionizing the textile industry with a focus on innovation, sustainable sourcing, and pioneering circularity at scale.

With the closing of this deal, HeiQ and MAS agreed to a 5-year Offtake Agreement for 3,000 tons of HeiQ AeoniQ™ yarn in 2025 and 5,000 tons per year from 2026 to 2029, valued by HeiQ in the aggregate to US$ 100 million. MAS will finalize this commitment within a stipulated time period after achieving milestone 1, and a mutual plan for commercialization. HeiQ and MAS firmly believe that rapid scaling is key to facilitating the fast adoption of sustainable, circular technologies such as HeiQ AeoniQ™.


Carlo Centonze, CEO & Co-founder of HeiQ

"Venturelab gave us tools to move from science to business faster and better, it was an essential BootCamp," said Carlo.

Since Q4 2021, HeiQ’s launch of the HeiQ AeoniQ™ technology has been attracting the attention of major global players in the textile and clothing industries. With the proprietary manufacturing method, for the first time in history, a cellulosic filament yarn can be made from a wide range of non-valorized feedstock and is able to reproduce comparable performance features of polyester or nylon, while being sustainable and endlessly circular.

The HeiQ AeoniQ™ pilot plant in Austria is manufacturing this revolutionary continuous cellulosic filament yarn since Q3 2022, with up to a 100 tons capacity to be upscaled up to 300 tons by the end of 2023. The HeiQ AeoniQ™ production scale-up is planned to have its definitive boost by early 2026 with the construction of an entirely new gigafactory capable of a 30,000-ton output per year, in a 250M USD estimated investment.

HeiQ participated in Venture Leaders Technology in 2007.

Source: HeiQ PR.