Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long received leaders of Syre Company (Sweden)

Syre is a Swedish textile recycling company that aims to reduce carbon emissions and waste in the textile industry by recycling Polyester at scale. Syre plans to build 12 factories globally by 2032, producing 3 million tons of recycled Polyester, saving 15 million tons of CO2e annually.

Syre is planning to select Vietnam as the location for a 250,000-ton polyester recycling plant, with an investment of between $500 million and $1 billion. This plant will help Vietnam become a global circular textile hub, creating jobs, developing a waste management ecosystem, and enhancing textile transportation and sorting.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long welcomed Syre's idea of ​​choosing Vietnam as the location to invest in building its factory. The Vietnamese Government is increasingly interested in and prioritizing sustainable and circular production investment projects. On June 7, 2022, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 687/QD-TTg approving the Circular Economy Development Project in Vietnam. One of the specific goals is "Raising awareness and investment interest of domestic and foreign enterprises and investors in the circular economy model; promoting the application of the circular economy model to promote the greening of economic sectors". Therefore, Syre Company's plan to invest in a textile waste recycling factory in Vietnam at this time is in line with the regulations on textile waste treatment and recycling and the policies and strategies that Vietnam is aiming for such as: Sustainable development, green growth, circular economy, efficient and economical use of resources, waste recycling, etc.

In an interview with the Deputy Minister, Ms. Suzanna also expressed her desire to make Vietnam the first global hub for the textile industry with a large volume of textile recycling that has never been seen before in the world. In addition, Syre hopes to develop a new ecosystem for waste management, using the latest technology in textile classification, developing standards for recycling and waste classification, attracting more local manufacturing enterprises from other recycling units when the raw material system is developed. Syre hopes to receive support from the Government of Vietnam, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies/departments in the process of approving and implementing the project.

Syre was founded in 2023 by a subsidiary of H&M Group and Vargas Technology Investments, and is primarily active in the recycling of textile waste/scrap. The Company’s initial focus is on recycling polyester waste into new materials for the apparel, automotive and furniture industries. H&M Group has signed a purchase agreement with Syre worth a total of USD 600 million over 7 years, covering a significant portion of H&M’s long-term demand for recycled polyester, which currently originates mainly from the plastic-to-fiber process.

Syre plans to have 12 full-capacity manufacturing plants worldwide producing 3 million tonnes of circular polyester and reducing more than 15 million tonnes of CO2 (equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 3 million gasoline-powered cars) by 2032. Syre’s investors include major textile companies such as H&M, Volvo and Ikea, as well as major financial investors such as Vargas and TPG Rise. The first US plant will be operational in 2024, with commercial sales of its products starting in 2025.

Syre is currently putting Vietnam on the list of priority countries to build a large commercial factory with a capacity of 250,000 tons per year, with a total investment of about 500 million to 1 billion USD, including machinery, factories, installation and some other investment costs. Syre's investment project can bring 600 job opportunities for local workers, helping to increase activities in the field of transportation, manual and automatic textile waste sorting.

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao-bo/thu-truong-nguyen-hoang-long-tiep-lanh-dao-cong-ty-syre-thuy-dien-.html