In Spain, Gr3n invests in Modus, a plant for microwave-assisted PET recycling

Specialised in the chemical recycling of PET packaging, the Swiss company Gr3n has recently closed a 15.5 million euro Series B financing round, the proceeds of which will be invested in Modus, its first industrial-scale plant, located in Spain, with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes per year. Modus has already been selected to receive 35 million euros from the EU Innovation Fund and represents a decisive step towards bringing the MADE technology developed by the company itself to the market on a large scale.

Today, 98% of recycling is mechanical and can process around 15% of the available PET. The remaining 85% – coloured bottles, textile fibres, films – ends up in landfill or is incinerated. The patented MADE technology – Microwave Assisted DEpolymerization – changes this scenario through the use of microwaves, enabling 100% of PET waste to be processed at lower temperature and pressure than conventional technologies, generating food-contact monomers with CO2 emissions up to 80% lower than the production of virgin PET. This investment represents a step forward in bringing MADE from pilot phase to industrial scale.