Chemical recycler Plastic Energy announced today that it has completed a €145 million round of financing from three separate investors: LetterOne, Axens and M&G.
The company, which is headquartered in the UK, currently operates two plastic-to-plastic chemical recycling plants in Spain. Construction on additional plants in France and the Netherlands is underway. Plastic Energy plans to use the proceeds to accelerate its growth, to expand its technology and its global portfolio of recycling plants.
“It is encouraging to have the support of these global companies who share our vision in reducing plastic waste and have confidence in our patented and proven chemical recycling technology,” said Carlos Monreal, founder and CEO of Plastic Energy. “This investment will have a big impact, enabling us to recycle more plastics globally and build a more sustainable and circular economy.”
Plastic Energy has developed proprietary technology that enables hard-to-recycle end-of-life plastics to be recycled using a thermal anaerobic conversion (TAC) process. The output of the process, called Tacoil, is suitable for use as feedstock from which ultimately virgin-quality food-grade packaging can be produced.
Plastic Energy has a number of agreements in place with such players in the chemical sector as Sabic, TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil. Already, recycled plastic made from its process has been incorporated into packaging and products for brands such as Unilever and Tupperware.
LetterOne, a UK-based firm investing through its L1 New Energy arm, is ‘passionate about building better businesses’, said managing partner Tim Summers. “Carlos Monreal and the management team at Plastic Energy have created a pioneering company with compelling growth potential,” he said, explaining his company’s participation in the funding round.
In addition to its direct investment, France-based Axens, a company providing technologies, products, services and equipment, for the production of cleaner, renewable, gas, fuels and chemicals, has also agreed on a strategic collaboration with Plastic Energy for the worldwide marketing and licensing of Plastic Energy’s chemical recycling technology.
“Achieving a true circular economy of recycled polymers, including for food contact and health care grade, is a largely shared objective. And, leveraging Plastic Energy and Axens complementary operational and technological skills, we can now offer a combination of proven technologies to make it possible” said Stéphane Fedou, Plastic Circular Economy Director at Axens
Global investment management firm M&G has also joined Plastic Energy as a new investor. “The proliferation of waste plastic is a blight on our natural environment,” said Alex Seddon, Head of M&G’s Catalyst Team. “Plastic Energy is assisting the circular economy by breaking the chain of adding more new plastic to the eco-system and, importantly, keep more end-of-life plastics away from landfill and our oceans.”