Xefco, the pioneering sustainable manufacturing tech company, has announced a substantial fundraising round of AUD 10.5 million.
The funding, led by Australian deep tech fund Main Sequence, aims to combat textile emissions and foster a greener supply chain within the fashion industry, the company said in a media release.
Joining Main Sequence in this investment are Breakthrough Victoria, Virescent Ventures (investing on behalf of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation), along with existing shareholders Investible and Voyagers Climate-Tech Fund.
This influx of capital will bolster Xefco’s team and facilitate the commercialisation of its water-free textile finishing and dyeing solution, Ausora.
Data reported by Xefco said the textile industry stands as one of the largest contributors to global pollution, with textile finishing and dyeing alone responsible for a significant portion of industrial water pollution and carbon emissions.
Tom Hussey, CEO and founder of Xefco, emphasised the urgent need for change, stating, “The existing wet processes used to put colour and other functional properties on fabrics have the biggest environmental footprint of the entire fashion supply chain.”
He added, “These outdated, resource-intensive operations have not changed in centuries. It’s destroying our waterways and our planet. We’re determined to create a greener supply chain for the fashion industry.”
Xefco, established in 2018 by Tom Hussey and Brian Conolly, has dedicated the past six years to developing innovative textile solutions.
Their first product, XReflex, designed to enhance the thermal efficiency of insulated clothing, has already been adopted by leading apparel brands such as Zara and The North Face.
Now, with their latest breakthrough, Ausora, Xefco introduces a method of dyeing and finishing textiles without water.
Leveraging its proprietary shower plasma process, Ausora achieves the same aesthetic, tactile, and performance properties as traditional methods but without the environmental impact.
Ausora’s versatile process can be applied to a wide range of textiles, including natural and synthetic materials.
Xefco has already initiated several pilot projects with major sportswear, outdoor, and fashion brands, integrating the Ausora system into their production pipelines.
Tom Hussey further explained, “Our Ausora systems have been designed to plug and play into existing supply chains to help brands and manufacturers easily transition to a cleaner textile process.
“Compared to conventional wet dyeing and finishing, our process eliminates the use of water and cuts energy, chemical consumption and cost. Our technology has the potential to stop millions of tonnes of waste entering our waterways and CO2 from entering our planet,” he stated.
Operating from Deakin University’s ManuFutures hub at the Waurn Ponds campus, Xefco’s technology has garnered recognition and support from various grants and programs, including up to $4 million from Deakin’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub and the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program.
Jun Qu, investment manager at Main Sequence, highlighted the critical role Xefco plays in driving sustainable change within the fashion industry, stating, “Xefco addresses an often-overlooked element of the fashion supply chain, one that is critical to global climate repair.”
“There’s no sustainable future without sustainable fashion and we see immense potential for Xefco to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global textile industry,” Qu noted.
With the latest funding injection, Xefco said it is poised to expand its workforce and scale up its manufacturing processes in 2024.
