DePoly, a start-up which specializes in advanced recycling of PET/Polyester plastics, announced the start of construction of their Showcase plant, which will be the first plastic monomer recycling plant in Switzerland.
DePoly has pioneered an innovative solution to tackle the plastic challenge the world is facing today. After successfully building, running and scaling their Pilot Plant since 2021, which was supported by Energypolis, DePoly has begun the construction of their Showcase Plant in Monthey, Switzerland, at the CIMO site. This new plant will have an increased feedstock capacity and will be able to treat up to 500 Tons of PET/Polyester plastics per year.
A revolutionary technology for recycling PET
This first of a kind plant in Switzerland will unlock the possibility of recycling unsorted, untreated and mixed post-consumer and post-industrial textile and packaging waste streams. Through its technology, PET plastics are broken down back to their raw monomers at virgin grade quality in an energy efficient manner. The monomers can then be used to produce recycled PET products identical to oil-based counterparts, reducing the need for oil extraction to produce new plastic.
The Showcase Plant will enable DePoly to treat PET/Polyester waste from local and international customers on a larger scale, serving as the blueprint for scaling their commercial manufacturing plants worldwide in the coming years. DePoly aims at offering an innovative solution to customers in industries such as apparel, food and automotive, who want to recycle their materials with a low environmental impact. This will enable to serve more customers who want a quality recycled product that is made without the use of fossil fuel.
A Leap Forward in Plastic Recycling
With the construction phase started, it is estimated that the Showcase Plant will begin operating by the end of the first semester in 2025. The plant will have a footprint close to 1’500 square meters for a total annual treatment of 500 Tons of PET/Polyester plastics per year and will create up to 30 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
“The construction of our Showcase Plant is the next milestone for DePoly. During the past 3 years, we have developed deep technological know-how and state of the art processes by testing more than one hundred combinations of feedstocks allowing us to optimize and scale our processes with an unprecedented pace, while keeping our quality standards to their highest. The Showcase Plant will further demonstrate the scalability and techno-economic advantage of our technology on an industrially relevant scale.”
“Thanks to its infrastructure, the site offers attractive advantages for many companies, and it was these advantages that motivated DePoly to approach the site representatives to present its expansion plans. We look forward to welcoming this company to their new building in Monthey.”
Source: press release DePoly