Dive Brief:
- Circularity startup Resynergi said last week it had raised $6.4 million in its second round of funding, allowing it to scale production of its technology that converts plastic waste into reusable materials and expand its executive team.
- The series B financing was spearheaded by Transitions First, an international seed-stage venture capital fund focused on accelerating sustainable industrial transitions, and Lummus Technology, a New Jersey-based licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies.
- The financing boost primarily aims to support development of Resynergi’s Continuous Microwave Assisted Pyrolysis reactor, which processes 1.25 tons of solid plastic waste per day and converts it into a gas for downstream processing. According to the company, its technology’s conversion rate is “20 times faster” than traditional pyrolysis methods.
Dive Insight:
Resynergi said its CMAP recycling technology can repurpose high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene waste plastics — which represent approximately 60% of the plastics produced. According to the company, the reactor generates clean products with up to 68% reduced in carbon dioxide equivalent and is positioned to scale waste conversion, “creating positive social and environmental impact.”
The CMAP reactor uses microwave temperature control, allowing it to apply heat more thoroughly onto the plastic products and converting it within 1/100th of the time taken by standard reactors, according to Resynergi. The company said the reactor has a small footprint and its design allows for rapid scalability, meaning plastic does not have to be transported for long distances to be processed.
"We're accelerating plastic circularity with our technology," Resynergi CEO Brian Bauer said in the press release. "By diverting plastic from our landfills and oceans we're on a mission to protect human health and our environment.”
Bauer added that the new round of funding allows Resynergi to scale its process of recycling plastics while creating new sustainable materials that “reduce dependence on fossil-based resources.”
The Rohnert Park, California-headquartered company, also said it was bringing on Marianne Abib-Pech, a managing partner at T1ST, and Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO of Lummus Technology, as board of directors at Resynergi.
The announcement comes as companies are facing mounting pressure to reduce plastic consumption and increase circular packaging. Last year, shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow filed six shareholder resolutions related to consumer packaging with Amazon, Constellation Brands, Kroger, McDonald’s, Restaurant Brands International and Yum Brands, in an effort to curb plastic pollution and prompt the companies to consider reusable packaging.
Though Amazon’s shareholder resolution did not pass — the proposal collected 32.3% of overall votes — the advocacy group filed a similar resolution for 2024 last month, asking the e-commerce giant to issue a report that details how the company could “reduce its plastics footprint by committing to make all packaging curbside recyclable, reusable, or compostable.”
