Can you imagine a world in which plant fibers such as flax, hemp, nettle and broom are no longer considered just waste, but a noble raw material, ready to replace plastic, reduce water consumption and breathe new life into cultures that until recently were considered marginal? Startup Sylfib has charted a course towardd this goal by developing a modular bioreactor capable of transforming plant waste into high-performance fiber with drastically reduced environmental impact.
The soul of the innovation is a rather small container-module, operated by sensors and algorithms, which conducts a microbiological maceration process (without the use of enzymes or chemical additives) to extract the so-called “noble fiber.” It is a natural process that consumes up to 95 per cent less water than traditional methods, which use caustic soda or chemical treatments. The resulting fibers can then be directed to a variety of uses, from textiles to construction, paper to bioplastics.
A story that starts “from the bottom”
The startup was born in January 2024, but the three founding partners-Emanuele Bertolotti (CEO), Marco Errani , and Flavio Cammi-had been working on the prototype since 2021. Another crucial element is the enhancement of alternative crops, such as hemp, flax, broom and nettle: all plants that in addition to growing very fast require little water and few treatments, and can also be grown on marginal land. Hemp, in particular, can regenerate soil and absorb significant amounts of CO₂. In short, a quality that makes it a true ally in the fight against climate change.
A further strength of the project is related to its replicability: the bioreactor can be produced in different formats and installed under licence at companies that prefer to act autonomously.
In this sense, one of the most inspiring examples concerns a paper mill in Fabriano that uses hemp fibers supplied by Sylfib to produce more sustainable packaging paper: a paper that is stronger, unlikely to yellow, and can be recycled up to twenty times.
Between challenges and potential
Challenges still remain. The first concerns production capacity: to date there is a prototype; to meet the demands of industrial supply chains , the scale of production will need to be increased. Another aspect is economic competitiveness: plant fibers enhanced by the bioreactor must be able to compete, also in terms of cost, with traditional materials, including plastics. Finally, the question of market acceptance: weaving mills, paper mills, and biocompound producers will have to be willing to revise part of their processes and habits. Which, translates into a change of approach, modification of established supply chains, and acceptance of a new material. Finally, there is the issue of logistics and raw material: harvesting, transporting, and processing crops of this type requires efficient management to prevent the positive impact from being dwarfed by additional energy and environmental costs.
But it is precisely behind these great challenges that lies the strength of the project. The goal is to transform a waste into value, a waste into raw material. Every piece of clothing made from recycled plant fibers, every insulation board made from hemp, every paper package that replaces plastic packaging is a concrete pro-environment choice. And it means demonstrating that resources do not have to be taken and consumed to exhaustion, but can be reinvented.
