Solena Materials is a biomaterials scale-up developing high-performance protein fibers for the luxury fashion and sportswear industries. Working with sustainability consultancy Quantis, Solena has modelled the techno economic cost and environmental footprint of its fiber at industrial scale under a range of production scenarios. The analysis has given Solena quantified evidence of competitive advantage on both price and environmental performance against incumbent textiles — and a model it can rerun as its process evolves.
Challenge
Solena was in pilot-scale production and modeling multiple routes to an industrialized process. The strategic choices ahead — including production location, feedstock, and the scale-up pathway — would have a significant influence on both production costs and environmental performance, making it important to assess these factors together.
In parallel, Solena needed to substantiate the environmental and commercial value proposition of its fiber for investors and brand partners. As sustainability claims within the materials sector increasingly require quantified, independently defensible evidence against established incumbent benchmarks, a more robust approach was needed. No existing model integrated cost and environmental performance within a single framework, creating an opportunity for Quantis to develop a forward-looking modeling framework that projected both the fiber’s environmental performance and its economic competitiveness at scale.
Solutions
Quantis mapped Solena’s cradle-to-gate value chain, identifying cost drivers and environmental hotspots at each production stage. Working with the Solena team through workshops and joint scenario design, Quantis built an integrated Excel-based tool combining a Techno-Economic Assessment and a Life Cycle Assessment in a single shared model.
The tool’s physical model, capturing yield, energy, water, and material flows, feeds two parallel modules: a bottom-up TEA module covering capital expenditure, cost of goods sold by production stage, and labor; and a PEF-aligned LCA module covering all 16 environmental indicators, benchmarked against WALDB reference data for nylon and wool. Core scenarios covering production location, yield, capital expenditure phasing, and utilization were modeled alongside sensitivity variants on feedstock, electricity source, and heat source. The modeling was translated into a results deck with strategic recommendations and investor-facing claims, giving Solena a ready-to-use output alongside the underlying tool.
As we scale Solena Materials, every decision needs to be backed by robust data and evidence. Our customers and investors expect us to demonstrate both the environmental impact of our technology and a credible pathway to industrial scale. Quantis helped us build an integrated decision-making tool that brings environmental and economic data together, enabling us to evaluate manufacturing scenarios and substantiate our claims with transparent, data-driven evidence.
Gabriele Verikaite, Head of Business Development, Solena Materials
Results
Solena now has a reusable, scenario-based decision-making tool that lets its team model strategic choices and see the combined economic and environmental consequences of each option before committing capital. Because the tool was built on validated assumptions developed jointly with Solena, the team can use and update it independently as real commercial-scale data comes in, such as supplier quotes and pilot-plant results, turning it into a living asset rather than a static deliverable.
The modeling also gives Solena quantified, PEF-aligned figures benchmarked against incumbent materials, providing the defensible proof points the company needs in fundraising and brand partnership conversations.
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