Circular plastics-focused cleantech startup MacroCycle Technologies announced today that it has raised $6.5 million in a seed financing round, with proceeds aimed at commercializing its low-energy and low-cost solution to “upcycle” plastic waste for re-use.
Plastic production and disposal constitute more than 5% of global CO2 emissions. Only 15% of plastics are currently recycled, while the remainder are disposed of in landfills and waterways, or incinerated. Key barriers to increasing plastic recycling include waste contamination and intense energy usage.
Launched in 2023 by CEO Stwart Peña Feliz and CTO Jan-Georg Rosenboom, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based MacroCycle uses chemistry and selective non-toxic reagents to return plastic waste that would have otherwise ended up in landfills into its previous high-quality “virgin-grade” form, making it feasible to use in new products.
According to MacroCycle, filtering through contaminated recyclable materials and breaking down components into reusable end products has been too cost- and energy-intensive to be commercially adopted as a replacement for fossil fuel-derived plastics.
The company said that its process, based on the synthesis of cyclic macromolecules (macrocycles), is a simpler recycling method that requires 80% less energy than fossil-based PET production, and 50-75% lower capital expenditure than competing chemical or biologic recycling methods.
MacroCycle CEO Stwart Pena Feliz, said:
“There is a $700 billion linear plastics market opportunity, but today’s advanced recycling technologies are too expensive to build and operate, and still yield low-value products. MacroCycle’s technology provides a more efficient process to produce high-quality plastic that can be adopted as a drop-in solution competitive with fossil fuel-based plastic. Our technology will be a key enabler for plastic circularity, as we allow our customers and suppliers to unlock the economic benefits of recycling.”
The company said that it expects to recycle PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and polyester textile waste from customers in the cosmetics, textiles, home goods, fashion, food and beverage industries. To address demand for its PET product, its first pilot plant will produce bottles and garments made entirely from its recycled PET resin, MacroCycle added. The company said that it would use the new capital to grow its operations by 50%, and scale its pilot plant facilities to develop upcycled PET & polyester resin for customers.
The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures and Volta Circle, with participation from KDT Ventures and Neotribe Ventures.
Clean Energy Ventures Managing Partner Temple Fennell said:
“Global plastic waste is expected to triple in the next 40 years, and current mechanical and chemical recycling methods are not able to deliver viable solutions to process plastics and textiles waste streams. MacroCycle’s solution to upcycle plastics tackles an increasingly severe waste issue to create an economically and environmentally circular plastics supply chain.”