DePoly starts up pilot PET chemical recycling plant in Switzerland

The plant will serve as the technical blueprint for DePoly’s first commercial plant, which is expected to process 50,000 tonnes of feedstock annually.

Swiss recycler DePoly has inaugurated a 500 tonne/year PET depolymerisation plant in Monthey, Switzerland, marking the first at-scale deployment of its chemical recycling process. The Showcase Plant, located at the CIMO industrial park, will process PET packaging and polyester textile waste using DePoly’s proprietary light-activated depolymerisation technology. Stay on top of the latest innovations and investments in chemical recycling Access the Chemical Recycling Tracker

According to the company, the process breaks PET down into purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) in less than 60 minutes, without the high temperatures or added pressure typically associated with chemical recycling processes. The recovered monomers are designed to be reintroduced into existing PET production processes and used to manufacture materials with properties equivalent to virgin feedstocks. DePoly said the technology can process coloured, contaminated and complex PET waste streams that are difficult to handle through mechanical recycling, including food packaging, multilayer films and polyester textiles.

The Monthey plant will be used to optimise operating conditions, collect scale-up data and qualify the recovered PTA and MEG with customers in the packaging, textile, automotive and electronics sectors. It will also serve as the technical blueprint for DePoly’s first commercial plant, which is expected to process 50,000 tonnes of feedstock annually. The company plans to announce the location of that facility in the first half of 2027.

DePoly claims that products manufactured at the Showcase Plant can deliver emissions savings of up to 75% compared with virgin PTA, including credits associated with avoiding waste incineration. Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, DePoly employs around 30 people. The Monthey plant has created 12 direct and more than 30 indirect jobs.