Koch and Holland’s Ioniqa Partner to Advance 'Disruptive' PET Upcycling Project

Koch Technology Solutions (KTS) announced today that it is investing up to $30 million in clean-tech company Ioniqa Technologies B.V. as part of a partnership to scale up and commercialize Ioniqa's advanced polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling technology.

A spinoff from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, Ioniqa has developed a process that utilizes low-grade post-consumer PET to infinitely produce a feedstock that replaces virgin material in the production of polyester products. Ioniqa said it has successfully demonstrated this technology at its 10KTA production facility in the Netherlands.

"KTS has a long history in the polyester industry, and we recognize the value proposition of this disruptive technology that will fundamentally change how recycling is done," said Adam Sackett, President of KTS. "With an aligned vision on the future of PET recycling, we're excited to launch this partnership with Ioniqa and leverage our complementary capabilities to advance solutions tailored to the needs of the market."

KTS is the technology licensing arm of Koch Engineered Solutions, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, one of the largest private companies in the world.

KTS and Ioniqa's partnership seeks to address the growing demand for recycled content in the 30 million metric tonnes per annum PET market. Ioniqa's technology enables currently non-recyclable PET waste to be converted into materials suitable for high-quality food-grade applications, such as beverage bottles. KTS and Ioniqa said they consider the technology to be a disruptor in the PET industry, providing a “sustainable economic recycle proposition to conventional manufacturing routes.” The partnership will drive a circular process that addresses the environmental impact of the current PET industry.

"After the scaling of our technology to a 10KTA depolymerization plant in the Netherlands, this KTS partnership is a major stepping stone for Ioniqa in commercializing its technology on a global level,” said Tonnis Hooghoudt, CEO and founder of Ioniqa. “Our expertise in breaking down plastic waste into virgin-like monomers matches seamlessly with KTS' track record in designing and licensing PET production processes worldwide. We believe that together we can meet the strong market demand for recycled PET materials by jointly providing licenses and cleaning up the planet,” said Hooghoudt.

Ioniqa added that it is researching upcycling technologies for other types of plastic, which it expects to launch in the near future.