With €4.75 million in seed funding, Cyclize is driving a revolution in the chemical industry. The goal is to replace fossil resources with innovative carbon recycling of plastic waste and CO2. Cyclize is a ClimateTech startup based in Stuttgart, Germany.
The funding round was led by UVC Partners, with complementary investments from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Aurum Impact, UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators, and high-profile business angels, including Dr. Klaus Schäfer, former CTO of Covestro, who will also join Cyclize’s Advisory Board.
Plasma-based Process Recycles Mixed Plastic Waste into Syngas
In an era of overdue change, Cyclize breaks conventional boundaries and reinvents the chemical industry. The industry, once firmly anchored in the use of fossil resources, must and wants to transform to achieve the net-zero emission targets. However, there is an additional challenge: Fossil resources aren’t just a source of energy. Industries’ products inherently contain carbon, which is also derived from oil, natural gas, and coal. It is released when materials are incinerated after disposal. In total, plastics thus account for 15% of industrial CO2 pollution.
A typical building block for plastics, foams, adhesives, paints, and more is synthesis gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. So far, alternative technologies like electrolysis or mitigation strategies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) struggle to meet the growing demand for CO2-neutral synthesis gas.
Cyclize offers a solution. It is a highly innovative plasma-based process that recycles mixed plastic waste of all types to produce synthetic gas. This process is economically competitive with fossil syngas. Cyclize sets groundbreaking standards to replace fossil resources unrivaled.
“With our process, we send a significant signal for climate-neutral chemistry. Our patented Cyclize Process enables chemical companies to remain competitive despite rising energy costs in Europe. Cyclize Plasma is not just the future of the chemical industry – it is an enabler for the circular economy: Turning plastic waste into a valuable raw material with monetary value,” says Maike Lambarth, co-founder and CEO of Cyclize.
The shift to net-zero production is opening up new markets in Europe. Cyclize lays the foundation for the chemical industry through a low-threshold transformation. The company only replaces the first step of an extended value chain by offering synthesis gas that can substitute fossil sources. By retaining the majority of the value chain, existing process plants can continue to be used and production costs can be kept low.
Dr. Klaus Schäfer underscores the revolutionary potential of Cyclize, “With their solution, they not only serve numerous chemistry segments that were previously dependent on fossil hydrogen and synthesis gas but also solve the global problem of recycling previously non-recyclable plastic waste. Cyclize is an innovation pioneer that decisively addresses the global challenges of our time.”
Focus on Scaling the Technology
Chemical companies cannot defossilize their industry using existing technologies while remaining economically viable.
Lead investor Amanda Birkenholz knows, “Cyclize’s technology solves two problems of our civilization. Currently, only nine percent of globally produced plastic is recycled. The remainder is not further utilized and ends up in continuously growing landfills. However, the energy contained therein can be significantly used by Cyclize for the reforming process, simultaneously reducing electricity demand and operational costs significantly. Especially considering the current energy price policy, companies can secure a decisive advantage with Cyclize, utilizing a resource that has been scarcely used so far.”
Cyclize has already attracted significant interest from industry and politics. Since May 2022, the spin-off from the University of Stuttgart has been supported by the EXIST Research Transfer program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
With the capital raised in the seed round, the company elevates its implementation to the next level. Cyclize will now focus on scaling the technology and its application on an industrial scale with an expanded team. Additionally, test series with pilot customers who need synthesis gas or want to recycle complex waste streams are already planned.
The young company is actively driving technological development towards commercialization. The next milestone is the construction and operation of the first waste-to-syngas plant of its kind in a chemical park. This plant will demonstrate the technology’s applicability in the industrial environment.