Dow (Midland, Michigan, USA; www.dow.com) has made a “strategic” investment in Plastogaz (Lausanne, Switzerland; www.plastogaz.com), a technology start-up and owner of advanced recycling technology.

The investment, said Dow, will help to scale and simplify the process of converting plastics waste to feedstock and provide another carbon-efficient option to keep plastics waste out of landfills and the environment. Dow did not disclose the amount invested in Plastogaz, which was led by its venture capital arm.

Keith Cleason, business vice-president of olefins, aromatics and alternatives at Dow, commented, “This is an important strategic step for Dow and advances our commitment to create circular plastics with the lowest possible CO₂ footprint.”

According to Dow, Plastogaz’s proprietary catalytic hydrocracking technology is more efficient and less energy intensive than some other current forms of advanced recycling. The technology is based on a proprietary catalyst and hydrogen that converts the plastics waste into products such as naphtha.

“We want to change the way the world thinks about plastics – not as something to throw away, but as a product that can be used over and over again, sustainably and without damaging our natural environment,” said Plastogaz founder Felix Bobbink. “If we want to make long-lasting change, we need to work with like-minded and ambitious partners like Dow who have the potential to scale our technology.”

Plastogaz was spun out of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) in May 2020.