Everbloom is teaming up with North Carolina State University’s Nonwovens Institute (NWI) as the deep-tech startup looks to derisk the leap from lab-scale development to pilot-scale production for its protein-based fibers made from industrial protein waste.
The agreement gives Everbloom access to NWI’s pilot spinning and processing setup at NC State’s Wilson College of Textiles, where the company will work on translating its proof of concept into manufacturing-ready materials ahead of wider commercialization.
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“Material innovation doesn’t fail in the lab; the challenge has been in scaling,” said Simardev Gulati, Everbloom’s co-founder and CEO. “NC State provides the essential bridge between scientific discovery and industrial manufacturing. With our proof of concept validated by market interest, this partnership enables us to refine production under real manufacturing conditions and move strategically toward commercialization.”
Everbloom said its collaboration with NC State began in 2023, focusing on yarn spinning, fabric formation and dye evaluation. It was recently formalized in a contract that provides continued access to NWI’s melt-spinning equipment and advanced processing facilities.
On-site at NWI, Everbloom is producing kilogram-scale development batches, vetting dye chemistry under manufacturing-relevant conditions and testing repeatability ahead of larger-scale rollout.
“Scaling new materials from the lab into manufacturing is one of the most important and difficult steps in commercialization,” said Raoul Farer, NWI’s executive director and a professor in the Wilson College of Textiles at NC State University. “We are pleased to support the team with the pilot-scale infrastructure needed for commercial readiness and help advance a more sustainable future for textiles.”
Batches produced at NWI are sent to yarn manufacturing partners, including Tuscany-based Filati Biagioli Modesto—owned by Prada and the Zegna Group—for finished yarn production.
