In March 2025, Ecollant, which became REC in 2026, took part in Global Industrie in Lyon for the first time, as part of Jour Bleu. This was an important milestone for presenting our polyamide recycling innovation and engaging with French industrial stakeholders on the challenges of circularity and industrial renewal.
2026 update: This article looks back at Ecollant’s participation in Global Industrie 2025, an important milestone in the development of our polyamide recycling technology.
Ecollant exhibits at Global Industrie 2025
In March 2025, we took part for the first time as exhibitors at Global Industrie, one of France’s major industrial events. Our participation took place as part of Jour Bleu, a day dedicated to industrial start-ups, innovation and companies helping to shape the industry of tomorrow.
For Ecollant, which became REC in 2026, this was particularly significant. Our project sits at the crossroads of several major industrial challenges: complex textile recycling, polyamide recovery, the circular economy, Deeptech innovation and industrial renewal.
A First Spool Made from Recycled Polyamide from End-of-Life Textiles
At the event, we wanted to showcase the concrete progress made by our textile recycling technology. Among the materials on display was a first spool of yarn produced from polyamide recovered from end-of-life textiles.
This achievement represented an important milestone in our approach: transforming material recovered from textile waste into a new resource that can be used in an industrial application. REC’s objective is precisely to create this type of circular loop for polyamide. Complex textiles containing polyamide can thus become a source of secondary raw material rather than being systematically directed towards end-of-life solutions such as incineration.
Jour Bleu: A Day Dedicated to Industrial Innovation
Jour Bleu was organised within Global Industrie by Bpifrance, La French Fab and Start Industrie. The event brought together industrial start-ups, innovative companies, industrial stakeholders, partners and members of the ecosystem around the transformation of French industry.
The programme included workshops, keynotes, meetings, networking opportunities and demonstrations of technological solutions. For an industrial Deeptech company such as REC, this type of event provides an important opportunity to meet companies facing similar challenges in terms of transformation and industrial development. We would particularly like to thank Simon Gianordoli and Aurélien Gohier for their involvement in this initiative.
Why Is Global Industrie Strategic for REC ?
Global Industrie is particularly relevant to our development. Our ambition is not simply to develop a new textile recycling technology.
We want to contribute to building an industrial polyamide recycling value chain, with outlets for recycled materials and sufficiently large waste streams to supply future production capacities. Achieving this ambition requires working with a wide range of stakeholders:
- industrial companies;
- material manufacturers;
- yarn spinners;
- equipment manufacturers;
- collection and sorting operators;
- companies using polyamide;
- technology partners;
- investors and financial partners.
Industrial trade shows provide precisely the environment needed to build these connections.
A Deeptech Technology That Needs to Scale Up
Ecollant’s presence at Global Industrie 2025 also came at a key stage in our development. After several years dedicated to research and development, we were working on the scale-up of our process.
Moving from the laboratory to industry requires progressively validating several parameters: processing volumes, yield, material quality, process robustness, equipment and industrial organisation. This scale-up phase is essential to prepare an industrial solution capable of processing significant volumes of polyamide-containing waste.
From Global Industrie 2025 to REC in 2026
Since this event, the project has continued to evolve. Ecollant became REC in 2026 and the company is now based in Joigny, Burgundy-Franche-Comté.
This new industrial site represents another milestone on our path towards industrialisation. Our participation in Global Industrie 2025 therefore took place during a pivotal period: we were beginning to present our technology more broadly to the industrial ecosystem, seek new partnerships and prepare for scale-up. Today, this ambition continues under the REC name.
Discover REC’s history and journey
Global Industrie: Building Connections to Drive Industrialisation
For an industrial Deeptech company, innovation cannot remain isolated. Developing a technology requires progressively building an entire ecosystem around it: suppliers, partners, customers, investors, research organisations and industrial companies.
This is why events such as Global Industrie are important for REC. They allow us to test our technology against real-world needs, understand industrial constraints and identify the collaborations that can accelerate our development.
Thank You to the Industrial Ecosystem
We would like to thank the teams at Global Industrie, Bpifrance, La French Fab and Start Industrie for giving us the opportunity to present our project and engage with industrial stakeholders. Thank you also to everyone who came to discover our technology and discuss the challenges surrounding textile and polyamide recycling.
In 2025, we came to Global Industrie to showcase Ecollant’s progress.
In 2026, as REC, we are pursuing the same ambition: taking our technology from development to industrialisation and transforming polyamide-containing waste into new resources for industry.
The next step is being built with you.
FAQ – Ecollant: First Spool of Yarn Recycled from Polyamide-Containing Textiles
Can new textile yarn be made from used garments containing polyamide?
Yes. Polyamide can be recovered from certain used textiles and transformed into a new raw material, which can then be used to manufacture yarn or other industrial products. In 2025, Ecollant, which became REC in 2026, presented the first spool of yarn made from polyamide recovered from end-of-life textiles at the Global Industrie trade show. This achievement illustrates the potential of recycling complex textile materials.
How can used textiles be transformed into recycled polyamide yarn?
The first step is to identify and collect textiles containing polyamide. The material must then be recovered using a recycling process suited to the composition of the textiles. REC is developing a physicochemical technology to extract and regenerate polyamide from complex textiles, particularly when it is combined with other fibres such as elastane. The recovered material can then be used to manufacture new products, depending on its resulting properties and the requirements of the intended application.
Why is it difficult to produce recycled yarn from textiles containing polyamide and elastane?
Polyamide and elastane are often combined in textiles to provide both strength and stretch. Separating them is challenging because the fibres are closely integrated within the yarn or fabric. Processes must therefore be developed to recover the polyamide while preserving the properties required for its reuse. This is precisely the technological challenge REC is addressing with its solution for regenerating polyamide from complex materials.
What is the purpose of the Global Industrie trade show for a company like REC?
Global Industrie enables innovative companies to showcase their technologies, meet industrial players and identify potential partners or customers. For a DeepTech company like REC, this type of event is particularly valuable for assessing its innovation against market needs, engaging with material manufacturers and industrial users of polyamide, and helping to structure an industrial recycling value chain. Ecollant presented its first spool of recycled yarn there in March 2025, before continuing its development under the REC name.
What is the difference between the recycled yarn presented by Ecollant in 2025 and the recycled polyamide pellets developed by REC?
Yarn is a textile product obtained by processing material into fibres that can be used to manufacture fabrics and other items. Recycled polyamide pellets, on the other hand, are a raw material that industrial companies can process using their own manufacturing methods. The spool presented by Ecollant in 2025 demonstrated one possible application for recovered polyamide. Today, REC is developing its business around the recovery and regeneration of polyamide to produce recycled pellets for a range of industrial applications.
