Based in the Energypolis campus in Sion and supported by the Ark Foundation, the Valais-based start-up DePoly, renowned for its revolutionary PET plastic recycling technology, has just closed an oversubscribed seed financing round, raising 12.3 million Swiss francs.
Founded in 2021 by Samantha Anderson, Bardiya Valizadeh and Christopher Ireland, DePoly aims to solve the world’s plastic waste problem by using a chemical recycling process able to convert all PET plastics and polyester textiles back into their primary chemical components. The resulting products – which are comparable to virgin-quality materials – can then be reused to create new plastic items as part of a sustainable circular economy for plastics.
Current plastic recycling practices across the world focus on recycling “perfect” plastics as sorting, separating and cleaning different plastic streams is a highly complex process. However, these streams only account for less than 10% of the 400 million tonnes of plastic produced every year, the majority of which is sent to an incineration plant or landfill. DePoly’s game-changing technology offers a global solution for recycling these “less-than-perfect” plastics by working at room temperature, where pre-washing, pre-sorting and the separation of other materials is no longer necessary.
The young start-up had already raised 1.3 million Swiss francs in December 2020, allowing them to build a pilot recycling plant. This innovative process not only led to a saving of close to 7,000 litres of oil per tonne of PET produced, but also to a reduction of the energy required by two thirds compared with the production of new PET.
Headed towards a major expansion
Now, after the success of this seed financing round, the company plans on building a new pilot plant, boosting its capacity from 50 to 500 tonnes a year and thereby demonstrating the technology’s commercial scalability. This financing will put DePoly in prime position to develop its technology and take an important step towards reducing the plastic waste generated every year.
Commenting on her company’s revolutionary technology, Samantha Anderson, DePoly CEO and co-founder, said: “Plastics are a part of life. It’s an existential dilemma we all face. To be able to tackle this problem effectively, we need a simple, scalable solution that is able to handle difficult plastic streams.”
The most recent fundraising round marks a milestone in DePoly’s journey, validating its innovative approach in tackling the pervasive problem of plastic waste. The influx of capital will help DePoly to achieve its goal of revolutionising plastic recycling and backing a sustainable future.
The funding was co-led by BASF Venture Capital and Wingman Ventures, with significant participation from companies such as Beiersdorf, Infinity Recycling, CIECH Ventures, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Angel Invest, ACE & Company and others.
Source: DePoly