Berlin, March 2026 – Re-Fresh Global, a German company redefining cellulose and fibre manufacturing and building the next generation of textile waste infrastructure, has appointed Urte Zahn as Chief Executive Officer. She will lead the company’s next growth phase as it scales its technology for converting mixed textile waste into advanced raw materials for industries including cosmetics, packaging, automotive, and acoustics.
The textile industry generates around 92 million tons of waste annually, much of which remains unrecyclable due to complex blended fibres such as poly-cotton and poly-viscose – representing up to $500billion in lost raw material value annually. While new regulations increasingly address textile waste, the industry still lacks the infrastructure to process mixed textile streams at scale. Re-Fresh Global addresses this gap through proprietary enzymatic recycling technology that converts mixed textile waste into high-value cellulose-based materials. These bio-based, locally produced alternatives help meet the growing demand for sustainable raw materials.
Zahn brings over 20 years of experience in industrial leadership and digital transformation. She previously co-founded smartB Energy Management, raising €7 million in venture capital, building a team of more than 20 employees, and scaling the company to €1 million in revenue before exiting. Earlier roles at IBM and Bosch focused on leading large-scale transformation initiatives across Europe and globally.
“Re-Fresh Global is solving a decades-old challenge in the textile industry. Our technology can convert up to 80% of textile waste into valuable materials such as Re-SanPulp™ and Re-Celloop™, at up to 50% lower cost than virgin alternatives, helping close the critical gap in recycling infrastructure as new regulations come into force.”, says Urte Zahn, CEO of Re-Fresh Global.
Alongside Urte Zahn, Revital Nadiv, Co-Founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer, continues to lead R&D. She adds: “By combining enzymatic processing with modular microfactories, we can transform complex blended textiles into advanced cellulose materials at scale. Through our SmartUp™ System, we enable local recycling infrastructure that reduces transport costs, minimizes the movement of low-value waste, and creates regional jobs. Urte’s experience will be key as we scale.”
Re-Fresh Global has completed seven paid pilot projects, including collaborations with the Volkswagen Group, KONNECT (Volkswagen Group Innovation), and other European OEMs, generating €500,000 in revenue. Re-Fresh Global has also filed three patents and signed four Letters of Intent representing approximately €1.5 million in potential Annual Recurring Revenue.
Backed by investors including IndieBio, SOSV, Wermuth Asset Management, and Serpentine Ventures, the company is currently raising €5 million in Seed funding to accelerate commercialization and global expansion.
About Re-Fresh Global
Re-Fresh Global is a German company redefining cellulose and fiber manufacturing and textile waste infrastructure. The company uses a scalable enzymatic process to convert blended textile waste into Re-SanPulp™ (recycled fiber for nonwovens and textiles) and Re-Cellulose™ (cellulose for e.g. cosmetics and packaging) with scalable enzymatic process, targeting up to 50% cost savings and 85% lower CO₂ emissions versus virgin materials. Its licensable SmartUp™ System enables modular microfactory deployment globally, reducing logistics costs and creating regional jobs.
This addresses a critical gap: less than 1% of the approximately 92 million tonnes of annual textile waste is currently recycled.
Re-Fresh Global has completed seven paid pilots with Volkswagen Group and other European OEMs, generated €500K in revenue, filed three patents, and secured €1.5M in Letters of Intent. Backed by IndieBio, SOSV, Wermuth Asset Management, and Serpentine Ventures.
