German Tech Startup eeden Completes €18 Million Series A Funding Round
Münster, April 29, 2025 – eeden, a German tech startup that has developed pioneering textile recycling technology, has successfully closed its €18 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Forbion, a leading venture capital firm based in the Netherlands, through its BioEconomy Fund. New investors Henkel Ventures, the strategic venture capital fund of Henkel, and NRW.Venture, the Venture Fund of NRW.BANK, North Rhine-Westphalia’s development bank, also participated in the round. All existing investors, including TechVision Fund (TVF), High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), and D11Z. Ventures, reinvested in the round. The funding will enable eeden to construct its demonstration plant in Münster, optimize large-scale processing, and establish commercial projects with key players in the textile industry.
The textile industry faces ongoing challenges, including rising costs, resource scarcity, material volatility, and growing regulatory hurdles. To remain competitive, brands and manufacturers are increasingly seeking textile materials that combine high performance, scalability, and circularity at price parity. eeden addresses this need with its breakthrough chemical recycling technology, which recovers pure cellulose and PET building blocks (monomers) from cotton-polyester blends. Their products can be used to produce virgin-quality lyocell, viscose, and polyester fibers, offering a resource-efficient alternative to conventional fibers and unlocking new circular value chains.
“Over the past few years, we have developed a proven solution that has the potential to meet the industry’s long-term need for cost-efficient and high-performing circular materials,” said Steffen Gerlach, CEO & Co-Founder of eeden. “We are proud that our new and existing investors believe in our approach and share our vision. With their support, we are ready to scale our technology and turn textile waste into materials the industry truly needs.”
The EU’s requirement for member states to implement separate collection systems for used textiles as of January 2025 further underscores the need for eeden’s technology. Alex Hoffmann, General Partner at Forbion, noted, “eeden has developed a pioneering solution that can make large-scale textile recycling not only technologically feasible but also commercially viable in the near future.” Björn Lang, Partner at TVF, added, “As an early investor, it’s great to see how the team has turned a vision into a validated process and strong strategic partnerships.”
The €18 million Series A financing will enable eeden to optimize large-scale processing and establish commercial projects with key players in the textile industry, following the successful technology validation of its pilot plant with industrial partners.
