Swiss cleantech company DePoly is set to open a 500-tonne-per-year showcase plant in Monthey, Switzerland, this summer, aiming to demonstrate the industrial scalability of its proprietary plastic recycling technology.
The plant marks a milestone for the company, which claims to have developed a method of converting PET and polyester waste into virgin-quality raw materials without the use of fossil fuels, as revealed in a news release.
The announcement comes as DePoly closes a $23 million seed funding round, with MassMutual Ventures joining a second closing.
The investment brings the company’s total raised to over $30 million, including grants, positioning it among the largest recycling technology companies in Europe.
The Monthey plant is intended to validate DePoly’s approach at industrial scale, following successful pilot testing and commercial trials with global partners.
The company has already collaborated with firms across the fashion, cosmetics, and consumer goods sectors, including brands such as Odlo and PTI.
According to DePoly, these partnerships have demonstrated the ability of its recycled monomers to meet high performance and purity standards, enabling the production of items such as bottles, textile fibers, and cosmetic packaging.
“The upcoming showcase plant validates our roadmap to creating a truly circular plastics market,” said Samantha Anderson, Co-founder and CEO of DePoly.
“Following our pilot and showcase plant, our next goal is to scale our operations to industrial size with a first-of-a-kind commercial plant based on our technology.”
The company plans to construct its first commercial-scale facility by 2027, designed to process significantly larger volumes of plastic waste.
DePoly positions its technology as an alternative to virgin plastic production, offering oil-equivalent monomers that could help reduce reliance on fossil-based resources.
Alix Brunet, Europe Lead at MassMutual Ventures, described DePoly’s technology as “a game changer addressing a crucial industrial and societal challenge,” adding that the new funding and showcase plant would help solidify the company’s leadership in the plastics recycling sector.
David Hanf, who joined DePoly as CFO in 2024 and brings experience from European scale-ups including Smava and Thermondo, said the company is focused on scaling quickly and achieving competitive pricing.
“We are convinced our technology is one of the fastest to scale and will allow us to compete with virgin pricing at scale, a key factor for success. We are happy to have expanded our investor base to the US with MassMutual Ventures as we want to build a global champion,” Hanf said.
Founded in Switzerland, DePoly has been recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer and was named among the Top 100 Swiss Startups in 2024.
