The European Union’s European Investment Fund (EIF) has invested €50 million in Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund, an impact fund that invests in companies developing new processes for the advanced recycling of plastics.
The fund supports companies with scalable technologies that need financing for the industrial and commercial scale-up of their operations. The Circular Plastics Fund has a target size of €150 million, a third of which is covered by the EIF’s commitment.
The transaction is supported by the InvestEU programme, which aims to mobilise over €372 billion in additional investment for EU policy priorities over the 2021-27 period, as well as by the European Investment Bank.
EIF, which is part of the wider European Investment Bank group, says that the advanced recycling technologies that will be supported include chemical processes that enable the full recycling of end-of-life plastic waste, producing new plastics with virgin-equivalent properties and reintroducing them into the existing value chain.
“The proportion of plastic packaging that is recycled is still far too low,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “Our climate change and environmental sustainability challenge is a combination of many different issues, and the excessive use of plastics is a major factor.
“A lot can be achieved by changing our habits, but innovation is key to finding new ways of dealing with structural plastic use and making sure we use every piece of plastic as many times as possible. With the support of the InvestEU programme, we are very happy to be supporting this kind of innovation.”
“For most Europeans recycling is already an integral part of their daily lives. Establishing a true circular economy also requires industrial solutions that allow plastics to be recycled fully, efficiently and many times over,” commented Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius.
“Today’s funding through InvestEU will help innovative European companies advance a circular plastics industry, acting as a booster for the EU’s green transition.”
“Demand for the use of recycled commodities in plastics production is on the rise, but only a few advanced plastics recycling technologies have been able to achieve commercial scale,” added Jeroen Kelder, Managing Partner at Infinity Recycling.
“While these technologies are often viable, many companies lack the specialised financial structuring and business development skills required to scale up production, source high-quality inputs and establish supply agreements with offtake counterparties. We are thrilled by this investment from the EIF, which pushes our Circular Plastics Fund beyond the €105 million threshold and empowers us to accelerate circularity in the plastics industry through an impact-driven strategy.”
The fund is established in Luxembourg and is managed by Rotterdam-based fund manager Infinity Recycling BV. The InvestEU support for the EIF’s participation in the fund falls under the initiative’s thematic “Joint Equity Product” and “Climate & Environmental Sub-Product” windows.
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