Itero secures investment to build Dutch chemical recycling facility for plastic trash

01 Aug 2022 --- Itero has collected €6 million (US$6.15 million) in investments – including €5 million (US$5.12 million) from Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund (CPF) – to finance the design and building of the company’s first at-scale chemical recycling demonstration facility at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, Netherlands. 

The company states that the demonstration facility will be capable of processing 27,000 metric tons of residual plastic trash per year, which is similar to the whole amount of plastic packaging waste generated by the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, annually. 

Simon Hansford, Itero CEO, says that “maintaining public goodwill and responding to environmental concerns about plastic waste requires a process to recycle plastic safely, sustainably and economically. Itero is working to provide a solution to that problem.”

The funds will also be used to finance more R&D at Itero’s UK pilot facility in Iver, near Heathrow.

Combating restrictive processes
Plastics have never been in more demand. According to Itero, the plastic industry’s production is expected to treble by 2060, but some current recycling processes are restricted.

Itero’s pyrolysis tech turns plastic waste into high-value chemical compounds.Chemical recycling has fewer constraints, both in terms of the types of plastic waste that may be recycled and in terms of producing virgin-quality recovered goods. 

Itero diverts end-of-life plastics from landfill and incineration facilities, thereby lowering crude oil usage. 

The company’s patented pyrolysis technology turns plastic waste into high-value chemical compounds. The chemical compounds are utilized as feedstock in the manufacture of virgin-quality plastics, which may be reused in the circular economy via the same process.

Partnering for polymer recovery
Infinity Recycling’s CPF is devoted to promoting ESG impact to the highest certification under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR): an Article 9 “dark green” impact fund.

This investment builds on Itero’s long-standing partnership with Infinity Recycling, a Rotterdam-based investment manager focusing on assisting advanced recycling firms with the scaling and commercialization of their technology, as well as expanding the market for recovered polymers. 

According to Jeroen Kelder, managing partner at Infinity Recycling, the company is optimistic about this investment and helping Itero with the upscaling of its technology and processes. 

“We have known Itero and the team for over three years and have supported them in a wide range of areas. The CPF’s capital commitment is the next step in our collaboration and paves the way for the next phase in Itero’s evolution,” he says.

Edited by Mieke Meintjes