DePoly secures $23M seed to launch PET recycling plant in Switzerland

Swiss cleantech scaleup DePoly has raised a $23M Seed round to launch a 500-tonne-per-year plant in Monthey, Switzerland, set to open in summer 2025. 

This funding round includes a strategic investment from MassMutual Ventures, which joins existing investors such as BASF Venture Capital, Beiersdorf Venture Capital, and Zürcher Kantonalbank.

The plant, which will initially process 500 tonnes of plastic per year, is set to demonstrate DePoly’s technology at an industrial scale, providing a real-world example of how circular plastic recycling can be implemented effectively.  DePoly’s technology revolves around a recycling process that breaks down PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and polyester plastics into their original building blocks, or monomers, without relying on fossil fuels.

Unlike traditional mechanical recycling methods that simply shred and reprocess plastics into lower-quality materials, DePoly uses a chemical recycling method. In this process, the PET or polyester waste is broken down at a molecular level into monomers, which are the basic building blocks that make up plastics.

The new funding will allow DePoly to continue its rapid growth, further refine its technology, and move towards its next major goal - the construction of a commercial-scale plant that will process larger volumes of PET and polyester waste.

The company has collaborated with Odlo in fashion, PTI in consumer goods, and Beiersdorf in cosmetics. 

Samantha Anderson, Co-Founder and CEO of DePoly, commented: "The upcoming showcase plant validates our roadmap to creating a truly circular plastics market. Following our pilot and showcase plant, our next goal is to scale our operations to industrial size with a first-of-its-kind commercial plant based on our technology."

Alix Brunet, Europe Lead at MassMutual Ventures, added:

"DePoly's proven technology is a game changer addressing a crucial industrial and societal challenge. This raise and the showcase plant opening are advancing DePoly's position as a leader in plastics recycling."

David Hanf, who joined the company in 2024 as Chief Financial Officer, emphasised the company’s goals: "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."