Electrospun nanofibres are moving from lab promise to industrial platform—helped by big-chemistry scale and polymer know-how.
A young materials firm and a chemical giant are trying to turn electrospinning into the next workhorse process for technical textiles. Niber Technologies, which specialises in electrospun nanofibre membranes, has struck a collaboration with BASF to speed up R&D and co-develop new membranes and functional surfaces—aimed not only at apparel, but broader industrial uses where breathability, low weight and material efficiency matter.
The partnership combines Niber’s multi-polymer electrospinning platform with BASF’s polymer and formulation capabilities. Early work is focusing on commercialisation studies using BASF’s Freeflex 1895A polymers, which Niber says are showing improved durability and membrane uniformity in initial development. Niber also positions its process as producing highly breathable membranes without the intentional use of PFAS, a key selling point as brands and regulators tighten expectations around fluorinated chemistries.
Electrospinning has long promised high-performance membranes with very low basis weight, but it has struggled to graduate from niche to scale. Pairing a specialist platform with BASF’s material science depth is a classic industrialisation move: reduce formulation risk, expand the design space of polymers, and shorten the path from prototype to repeatable manufacturing. If successful, the prize is a new class of membranes that can compete on performance while aligning with sustainability and chemical-management demands.
Next comes the hard part: translating “promising” lab results into stable process windows, cost targets and consistent QA. If BASF and Niber can prove scalability, electrospinning could shift from an innovation showcase to a mainstream manufacturing technology for advanced functional materials.
