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| Dr. Timo Witt (CTO), Philipp Keßler (CEO & Co-Founder), Dr. Manuel Häußler (Co-Founder). Image: aevoloop |
Packaging, textiles and injection-moulded parts are one-way products — conventional plastics were never designed for recycling. While mechanical recycling has become established, it comes with inherent limitations. To make a decisive leap in circularity, fundamentally new materials are needed, not just new recycling processes. aevoloop makes this possible: upcycling instead of downcycling.
The start-up replaces individual links in conventional polyethylene or polypropylene chains with bonds that can be selectively opened — through a kind of “predetermined breaking point.” They retain all properties in use, but at the end of their life cycle they can be chemically broken down into their basic components and processed into new plastic. This can be used like conventional polyolefins and, unlike other sustainable plastics, is not limited to niche applications. The biodegradability of these novel plastics also offers, in the long term, a solution to the microplastics problem.
Financing round speeds up market entry
To accelerate market entry, renowned impact and technology funds participated in the seed financing round: alongside lead investor Circulate Capital, Positron Ventures and bmp Ventures via the IBG Innovationsfonds (Innovation Fund) are also investing.
Public funding is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Saxony as part of an R&D collaborative project grant from the Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB). It is provided under the “Saxy Plastics” project, in which aevoloop is cooperating with the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research, Leipzig University and the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC).
Capital for further development, team and pilot projects
With the capital raised — €3.25 million in seed investment and just under €5 million in public funding — the start-up is pursuing a clear roadmap: further development of its solution, expansion of its team and implementation of additional pilot projects with industrial partners, for example to develop new products such as films, injection-moulded parts and fibres.
“Plastic is not fundamentally bad — only the way we handle it,” says Dr. Manuel Häußler, co-founder and scientific lead at aevoloop. “With our technology, we make plastics fully recyclable. In doing so, we combine the performance of conventional plastics with true circularity. Our goal is a world in which sustainable plastic can be used endlessly — without waste and without squandering.”
Wolfgang Hafenmayer, founding partner of lead investor Circulate Capital, adds: “aevoloop’s technology is a significant advance for the circular economy in polyolefins. For the first time, we have a true material alternative — without the compromises that other solutions entail. It’s precisely this kind of scalable innovation that can drive a systemic shift across the entire plastic value chain.”
Initial pilot projects have started
The underlying technology can be used immediately on existing extruders and injection-moulding machines. In addition, production is comparatively cost-effective — purely bio-based alternatives are often significantly more expensive.Initial pilot lines and projects have been launched, supported by strong partners such as the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), which has contributed initial funding of just under one million euros, and the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC), with which aevoloop collaborates closely in research.
