Novoloop announces plans to advance chemical recycling of plastic waste

Novoloop, an advanced recycling startup based in Menlo Park, California, announced that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding
.
The funding will be used to expand the company's plastic chemical recycling process, Accelerated Thermal Oxidative Decomposition (ATOD), and bring its production process to scale
.

Miranda Wang, co-founder and CEO of Novoloop, said: “Plastic is not going away anytime soon, so we need innovation to close the gap between what is produced and what is reused
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Our vision is to put Our technical processing capacity has expanded to tens of thousands of tons
.
”

The round was led by Envisioning Partners, with participation from Valo Ventures and Bemis Associates
.
Early investors in the round include SOSV, Mistletoe and TIME Ventures
.

ATOD is a proprietary processing technology that breaks down polyethylene (PE) into chemical components that can be synthesized into high-value products, the company said
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The process will be used to make Oistre, a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) used in high-performance applications such as footwear, apparel, sporting goods, automotive and electronics
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Oistre is the first thermoplastic polyurethane made from post-consumer polyethylene with performance characteristics that match virgin thermoplastic polyurethanes made from petrochemicals, the company said
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At the same time, Oistre's carbon footprint is 46% smaller than conventional TPU
.

Development work with Bemis will begin in March
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The product will first be used on its Sewfree on Demand line by Shirley, Massachusetts-based brand consultant Bemis Associates as a possible replacement for virgin petroleum-based thermoplastic polyurethane, Wang said
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"Since its founding in 2015, Novoloop has been a pioneer in chemically converting plastic waste into high-performance chemicals and materials," Bemis said in a release.
"
By making strategic investments in environmentally conscious technologies, Bemis will continue to strengthen Its leadership in sustainability and offering a wide range of environmentally friendly products to the market
.
"

Novoloop was founded when Wang and her business partner, Jeanny Yao, were undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toronto
.
Before that, the duo came up with the idea to start the project after visiting a municipal waste transfer station and realizing how much material was not being recycled
.

While Oistre will be one of the company's main products, Wang estimates ATOD derivatives can produce a variety of products, including various adhesives, paints and nylons
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The overall market for the products Novoloop can make is more than $140 billion, Wang said
.

Novoloop is working to develop relationships with material recovery agencies like GreenWaste Recovery in San Jose, Calif.
, to source materials used to make Oistre, she said
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Novoloop and GreenWaste Recovery plan to launch a new project later this year
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Novoloop says it is currently sampling and accepting pre-orders for Oistre 65A, a soft-grade polyester thermoplastic polyurethane for injection molding, especially for footwear applications
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Higher hardness grades of Oistre TPU will be available soon
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