Novoloop's technology holds the potential to upcycle carbon content found in common plastic waste such as grocery bags, packaging, and agricultural plastics
Oistre™ TPU by Novoloop uses up to 50% upcycled content from post-consumer plastic waste and has a 46% smaller CO2-eq footprint than fossil fuel-derived TPU
Novoloop, a start-up established to transform plastic waste into high-performance chemicals and materials, has secured $11m in a Series A financing round to accelerate the upcycling of plastic waste.
Led by Envisioning Partners, the financing round saw participation from Valo Ventures and Bemis Associates and previous investors such as SOSV, Mistletoe, and TIME Ventures.
Novoloop offers an accelerated thermal oxidative decomposition (ATOD) process technology, which enables to break down polyethylene into chemical building blocks that can be synthesised into high-value products.
Oistre, a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), is the first product based on ATOD process, said the company.
Produced using post-consumer polyethylene waste, Oistre is suitable for use in high-performance applications such as footwear, apparel, sporting goods, automotive, and electronics.
Novoloop’s technology holds the capacity to upcycle carbon content found in common plastic waste such as grocery bags, packaging, and agricultural plastics. Material recovery facilities consider these products in too low a value to bale and sell.
The company’s ATOD technology is focusing on enhancing commercial demand for waste polyethylene.
Novoloop co-founder and CEO Miranda Wang said: “Plastics are not going away anytime soon, so we need to innovate to close the gap between what is produced and what is repurposed.
“After years of technology development, we’re thrilled to announce backing by high-calibre investors and partners to commercialise this much-needed technology.”
Novoloop has also established a new partnership with Bemis Associates, which offers apparel bonding solutions such as seam tapes that are used in high-performance outerwear.
Bemis will initially use Oistre to replace virgin petroleum-based thermoplastic polyurethane.
Bemis sustainability director Ben Howard said: “Novoloop’s technology is a major breakthrough for our supply chain. Scaling it will be a huge step in shifting away from virgin petroleum sources and reducing our products’ carbon footprints.”
At present, Novoloop is sampling and taking pre-orders for Oistre 65A, a soft grade polyester TPU for injection moulding and suitable for footwear applications. Later, the company will launch higher durometer grades of Oistre TPU.