DEMETO

"Based on an internationally patented technology, the project foresees to bring at industrial level (through a completely functional pilot plant) the usage of microwaves as Process Intensification approach (through an electromagnetic catalytical effect) of the well-known alkaline hydrolysis depolymerization reaction. Such reaction was, up to know, economically unfeasible due to a certain number of technological constraints that DEMETO finally solves. Coordinated by PROCESSI INNOVATIVI, R&D company of a large EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) group, but supported by a large basis of SMEs that will bring the most innovative aspects of the project technology, DEMETO's Consortium is composed by highly skilled members, which can guarantee the appropriate exploitation of the project business case, also thanks to the involvement of all the major commercial stakeholders of the PET value chain, including the most relevant Customer Segments. In fact, having followed all previous steps from lab-level testing (TRL3) to industrial demonstration of the core reactor (TRL6), we are now in the position to further move the technology towards its market deployment, by building a pilot plant (containing a full reactive unit) that would act as industrial demonstration of the performances of DEMETO's de-polymerization approach to the market. One of the project major strengths is in fact that the market is ready to accept DEMETO's technology. The existing value chain of post-consumer recovery of PET plastic waste is perfectly apt to accept the introduction of a new ""ring of the chain"", that would close the loop into a circular economy model, acting either at the end of the chain (mechanical recyclers) or at its beginning (PET producers). This gives us a total addressable market of about 60 plants in Europe (270 worldwide), for a value of around €1.2bn (€5.4bn worldwide).