Delfzijl, 06-12-2024
UPPACT scales and builds new UnWaste Factory in Delfzijl (Netherlands)
Uppact scales up significantly with the help of NOM, the Groningen Growth Fund and the Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund
Processing 4,000 tons of plastic waste annually into valuable building and construction materials. That is what UPPACT | The UnWaste Company will do, now that the financing for the entire project has been completed. The NV NOM and the Groninger Groeifonds (GGF) will join as shareholders and the Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund will provide a loan. Together with the previously obtained JTF subsidy, the capital has been raised to start up the first line in the DEMO factory in Farmsum in the middle of next year. This plays a crucial role in the transition to a circular economy, in which waste flows are converted into useful and preferably circularly designed products for the regional market through recycling and reuse.
De scale-up van Jan Jaap Folmer en Michel Walstock kan iets bijzonders: ongewassen, ongesorteerde en ongeshredderde stromen gemengd plastic en textiel afval verwerken tot robuuste palen, planken en balken. Dat laat de Unwastor – zo noemt UPPACT de door Plastech Recycling in Australië ontwikkelde machine – al zien in de hal van maritiem-afvalinzamelaar Bek & Verburg in de Eemshaven. Nu is het tijd voor de volgende stap: een volledige productielijn in het Chemport Innovation Center (CIC) in Farmsum. Met de financiering op zak waren Folmer en Walstock afgelopen week in Australië om de Plastech Mixer-Melter te inspecteren voordat deze klaargemaakt wordt om naar Nederland verscheept te worden.
,,This is a crucial moment. It is quite a job to raise financing for such a project, so we are very pleased with the confidence of the NOM, the GGF and Polestar Capital to be able to build our DEMO factory,“ says Michel Walstock, CFO of Uppact. ,,Now we can continue, on our way to as much impact as possible. Because that is what we are all about. That plastic should no longer end up in the incinerators,” adds Jan Jaap Folmer, CEO of Uppact. The Unwastor in the DEMO factory will be more than 3 times as large as the test model that is currently operating in Eemshaven. In short, the machine swallows all kinds of plastic and spits out beautiful products. Poles, planks, beams for construction, but also bumpers that are used in the port of Delfzijl. Jan Jaap Folmer: “Our customers are very enthusiastic about the quality of our products.”
IMPACT
Emma Schakel , investment manager of the Groningen Growth Fund: “Uppact fits in seamlessly with our objectives. We want to strengthen the region in the field of green chemistry. That is exactly what Uppact can do: recycle and also make it a profitable model. This is how you create the most impact.’’
And NOM is happy to be part of that, says NOM investment manager Sytze Hellinga : ‘We see the potential, not only in the process, but also in the team. Recent years have already proven that what Uppact wants, is also possible. We will now continue to explore together how beautiful and impactful the future will be.’’
Jan-Willem König , CEO of Polestar Capital: ‘The fact that Uppact can process plastic waste that is sorted out by mechanical recyclers makes the technology complementary to existing plastic recycling. In this way, they contribute to more circularity in the plastic chain, a goal that both Uppact and we share. We are therefore pleased that our loan helps make this possible.’
‘We are very pleased to take this important step towards a sustainable future,’ adds Folmer. ‘With the support of these investors and partners, we look forward to contributing to building a circular future.’
UPPACT would like to thank the following organizations for making our pilot and demo factory possible:
ABOUT UPPACT
UPPACT | the UnWaste Company expects to remove 4,000 tons of plastic and textile waste from the waste stream annually with this first DEMO plant and prevent its incineration. This not only helps to reduce the dependency on primary raw materials, but also to reduce CO2 emissions. UPPACT plans to scale up further in the Northern Netherlands and to set up several similar facilities in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe. This approach fits seamlessly with the objective of both Dutch and European policy to promote the circular economy and to recycle and reuse plastic waste as much as possible.
PCDF is Europe's largest debt fund focused on financing the transition to a circular economy. The fund recently closed its fundraising at €240 million. Through PCDF, Polestar Capital invests in innovative circular projects with the potential to create a systemic ecological impact worldwide, both through waste reduction and recycling and by replacing fossil fuels. This reduces the use of virgin raw materials and carbon emissions. These projects often struggle to find sufficient financing. Banks usually find such projects too innovative and the projects are generally too capital intensive for venture capitalists to finance the unsubsidized portion entirely with equity. By closing this financing gap, PCDF enables circular manufacturing companies to prove their technologies and business models at commercial scale. In doing so, the fund paves the way for other financiers to finance the further scaling up of these technologies. Investments by PCDF benefit from support from the European Union under the InvestEU fund. For more information, visit www.pcdf.nl
NOM is the investment and development company of the Northern Netherlands that offers tailor-made financing and advice to innovative entrepreneurs who want to grow or establish themselves in the Northern Netherlands. At NOM, entrepreneurs are helped with money, connections and knowledge. Entrepreneurs are central. The services are independent, accessible and creative. They contribute to the growth of entrepreneurs and thus strengthen the northern economy in a sustainable way.
The Groninger Groeifonds is the fund of the Economic Board Groningen and the Province of Groningen that makes a difference in Northern Groningen. With the fund, EBG stimulates economic growth and creates additional jobs to ensure more business activity and employment.
