Invest-NL invests in Umincorp

Umincorp reprocesses plastic waste streams into pure raw materials for use by manufacturers of plastic products such as packaging, enabling the manufacturers to cut their use of plastics derived from fossil raw materials and achieve their recycling targets. The biggest obstacle to recycling plastic from household waste is sorting the various plastic materials it contains. For this purpose, Umincorp employs both existing and proprietary processes, of which Magnetic Density Separation (MDS) is not only the most important, but was also developed in-house.

MDS involves the use of a magnetic liquid for separating plastics in the waste stream. The MDS technology enables Umincorp to recover significantly more plastic than with traditional sorting and recycling techniques. This increase in the percentage of recovered plastics is very important in order to be able to meet European recycling targets. In addition, the plastic recovered from this process is also of higher purity. The purer the recycled plastics are, the more usable they will be as raw materials for high-quality plastic products.

Thanks to Umincorp's MDS technology, less plastic ends up in the incinerator and more high-purity plastic can be recovered from household waste. This also applies to the previously poorly-recyclable PET shells, which often consist of several thin layers of plastic. The new rPET factory enables Umincorp to create a closed raw material loop: from plastic to waste to raw material to plastic. Plastic manufacturers are increasingly demanding recycled plastic in order to reduce the use of fossil raw materials. The new factory will enable Umincorp to meet this need. All this taken together will result in a substantial reduction in CO₂ emissions amounting to 30,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per year.

Jaap Vandehoek, co-founder of Umincorp:‘ Our technology has now been proven effective and offers every opportunity to really shake up the recycling market. We show that there's another way. Scaling up allows us to increase our impact and make a crucial contribution to the challenges of recycling. The investment demonstrates the confidence in our approach to plastic recycling and is helping us take the next step in the roll-out in the Netherlands and abroad.’

Wouter Bos, Invest-NL CEO: ‘Contributing to a circular economy and minimising the use of raw materials is one of our main objectives. With this investment in Umincorp, we are demonstrating that more can be done with innovative technology when it comes to recycling. Moreover, a considerable environmental benefit is achieved thanks to the sizeable reduction in CO₂ emissions.’

Invest-NL is investing € 9 million and is using the EIB InnovFin SME Guarantee.

Speeding up Rotterdam's transition to a circular economy

Rotterdam wants to speed up the transition to a circular economy – in which waste is transformed into raw materials – and Umincorp wants to become a leader in circular plastics. In this way, Umincorp is taking the next step in the recycling of plastics from household waste streams. Umincorp is perfectly suited to the strategy and circular objectives of the Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund. The economic benefit is also considerable due to the additional activity and jobs being created. As fund manager of the Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund, InnovationQuarter will support the management team of Umincorp as necessary, supplementary to the financial investment.

Rafael Koene, fund manager of the Rotterdam Energy Transition Fund: ‘Thanks to its innovations and development of the rPET factory, Umincorp is contributing significantly to the circular economy of the Rotterdam region. Less plastic is incinerated and a closed raw material loop is being created, resulting in an enormous reduction in CO₂ emissions. As such, Umincorp is perfectly suited to the strategy and objectives of the Energy Transition Fund: to reduce CO₂ emissions and decrease the use of raw materials.’

Arno Bonte, member of the Rotterdam Municipal Executive Committee: ‘Each year, millions of tonnes of plastic disappear into incinerators, which is a crying shame. That is why we as a municipality are pleased to invest in this recycling plant. This high-quality recycling process will enable us to avoid squandering plastic waste and save thousands of tonnes of CO₂ . This helps us to achieve our climate targets and give shape to a circular economy in Rotterdam.’