Bamboo Yarn Machine: Successfully Completed Project Development

The end of 2023 marks the successful ending of a development project. Since July of 2021 we have been working on the development of our unique and patented long fiber yarn production process, and have successfully realized a working prototype line. The project was funded by a subsidy by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water management through a DEI+ grant.

The beginning

At the start of the project, only lab scale prototypes had been developed to figure out the required processing steps to effectively extract fibers from bamboo in a fully mechanical process. During the project, the goal was to upscale the technology to a working protype production line wherein we could demonstrate the fully in-line working process.

This development started by developing new prototypes that would allow further development of each single step in the process. To do so, we joined forces with local engineering, software design and production companies, which resulted in standalone prototypes of our long fiber production line. By the end of March 2022, all these standalone prototypes were ready for testing. This lead to Technology Readiness Level, or TRL, of 7 milestone, which means that all steps of long fiber extraction process had been demonstrated in operational environment.

In-line production

Using the previously gained results, we set off on the journey towards the very first in-line process to demonstrate the technology. Again we went to extensive collaboration with local companies to help develop the process to the next level. In this journey, we also outgrew our factory in Amsterdam and initiated a search for a new location to house the long fiber production pilot line. After an extensive search facing numerous challenges, such as power supply, factory size, and rent costs, we found a suitable location in Zaandam in a former shipyard. Since May 2022, we have moved in and started preparations for the construction of the first long fiber pilot line. The actual construction of the line started in June 2022 and was finished in November 2022, marking a new milestone in our development history and initiating a new phase of extensive testing.

The testing phase of our newly installed long fiber extraction pilot line gave us a whole new set of challenges of a different magnitude. Not only did we need to improve the individual steps, but also the combination of all steps in-line. The result was a slow, delicate process taking small steps at a time, until the first yarns were produced by the end of January 2023. Having first yarns was a major milestones but also indicated that a lot of improvement would be needed as they too thick and very inconsistent. Furthermore, only small runs of a few meters could be achieved due to many parts that were still not running optimal. As time progressed, we managed to improve and solve many of these problems. Hence, in June 2023 we were able to perform longer runs (up to ten meters) and had decreased the inconsistency in the yarns.

As with the development with all new processes, solving one problem allows the next problem to show up. Our case was no different, Being able to produce larger runs, we found out that some steps required a thorough reconsideration as they were either unable to yield high quality or the equipment wore to fast. These improvements paved the way for much thinner yarns and more consistent yarns as time progressed until the end of the project (December 2023). Now we are able to achieve the yarn quality we desire and can focus our efforts on achieving the first full bobbins of yarns.

Outlook beyond the project

Having reached the end of the project, we focus our efforts on further development of our long fiber extraction line and the long fiber yarns. First step in this story is to improve one final step in our process (Q1 2024). With this improvement we should make a significant step in reaching full bobbins of long fiber yarns.

Parallel to further development of the extraction line, we also work on developing yarn based semi-finished products such as UD-tapes and woven textiles. Within the first halve of 2024 we aim to provide a proof of feasibility for production of woven textiles from our long bamboo fiber yarns, which is co-funded through a Topsector Energy subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Following this proof of feasibility, we will further develop long bamboo fiber textiles in an international collaboration through a Eurostars project (planned starting date: 1^st of May 2024). Development of UD-tapes is also in the proof of concept phase in collaboration with TU Delft. For further upscaling of UD-tape production we are currently developing a multi-year international project.