Turning waste into resources: London’s Itero raises €6M led by Dutch-based Infinity Recycling

London-based Itero, a chemical recycling solutions company, announced on Monday that it has raised €6M in a fresh round of funding.

The round was led by The Netherlands-based Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund (CPF), which invested €5M, and will support the design and construction of Itero’s first at-scale demonstration plant located at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Geleen, NL.

“Turning waste into a resource”

Founded in 2010 by Simon Hansford, Itero is a chemical recycling technology company. It has developed skills in the application of thermal conversion (pyrolysis) technology for converting waste into a resource.

Itero complements conventional recycling techniques by preventing plastic waste from going to the dump or being burned, raising recycling rates and lowering reliance on crude oil. The procedure by the company effectively closes the supply chain for virgin polymers.

Itero says its large-scale, modular, patented technology converts hard-to-recycle waste plastic back into a chemical feedstock for new circular plastics products. While developing its first at-scale demonstration plant in Sittard-Geleen, the company is carrying out feedstock and product testing at its R&D facility in the UK, located near Heathrow.

CEO Simon Hansford says, “We are delighted that the significant potential of the technology developed by Itero is acknowledged by Infinity Recycling and other investors. Maintaining public goodwill and responding to environmental concerns about plastic waste, requires a process to recycle plastic safely, sustainably, and economically. Itero is working to provide a solution to that problem.”

Itero’s first demonstration plant in the Netherlands

The plant located at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Geleen, will have the capacity to treat 27,000 tonnes of leftover plastic waste each year, which is equal to the whole quantity of plastic packaging waste produced by the city of Amsterdam’s population yearly.

Itero’s pyrolysis or thermal cracking process converts plastics into three key products: Circular chemical feedstock – a recycled raw material for the production of virgin-grade plastics; Recycled waxes – for industrial and consumer uses; and Pyrolysis gas – a methane-rich gas used for heating or electricity generation.

The investor

Rotterdam-based Infinity Recycling is an investment manager that helps advanced recycling companies with the upscaling and commercialisation of their technologies and in growing the market for recycled polymers. The company was established by Jan Willem Muller and Jeroen Kelder to bring a return-driven approach to sustainability. 

Infinity Recycling’s Circular Plastics Fund, an Article 9 ‘dark green’ impact fund – the highest designation under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) – is committed to driving ESG impact.

Jeroen Kelder, Managing Partner at Infinity Recycling, says, “We have known Itero and the team for over three years and have supported them in a wide range of areas. The Circular Plastic Fund’s capital commitment is the next step in our strong collaboration and paves the way for the next phase in Itero’s exciting evolution.”