Gr3n raises €15.5M Series B to scale PET chemical recycling, build Spanish plant
What's the deal? Swiss chemical recycler Gr3n has closed a €15.5M Series B round to advance its PET recycling technology and build an industrial-scale plant in Spain. The facility, called Modus, is designed to process 40,000 tonnes of PET waste per year using Gr3n's patented Microwave Assisted Depolymerisation (MADE) technology.
MADE uses microwave energy to break PET and polyester into their core monomers, which can then be used to produce new PET with virgin-like quality — enabling repeated recycling without degradation.
The Modus project has also secured a signed €35M grant agreement under the EU Innovation FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Gr3n expects financial close in Q4 2027, with commercial operations planned for Q2 2030.
Why now? Most PET recycling today is mechanical and limited to transparent or light-blue bottles. Coloured packaging, films, and textile waste typically end up in landfill or incineration. Gr3n says its technology can handle a far broader range of PET waste — including coloured resins, films, and polyester textiles with blends containing up to 30% other materials.
That feedstock flexibility is central to the company's pitch, especially as EU regulations increasingly push for higher recycled content in packaging and textiles.
What could go wrong? The Modus plant was originally planned to start operations in 2027 but has been pushed back to 2030 — a three-year delay that highlights the challenge of scaling chemical recycling from lab to industrial reality. Engineering, procurement, and construction will be led by Intecsa Industrial, a Spanish engineering firm, but execution risk remains significant.
Chemical recycling broadly has faced scepticism over economics and energy intensity. Gr3n will need to prove MADE works at scale and at competitive cost.
The signal: Gr3n, classified as an "early growth" company on Dealroom, exemplifies the long timelines inherent in deep-tech cleantech — raising a Series B now for a plant that won't be operational until 2030. The €35M EU Innovation Fund grant dwarfing the €15.5M equity round underscores how capital-intensive chemical recycling remains heavily dependent on public co-financing, a dynamic that could limit how quickly the sector scales even as regulatory tailwinds strengthen.
Read more: Plastics News
