- Located in Albacete, the new plant will have a maximum input capacity of 150 000 tonnes of post-consumer food-grade mixed plastics per year and produce 45 000 tonnes of rPET pellets per year
- Repetco Innovations is planning to make an initial investment of €55 million and create 48 direct jobs
- The project is bolstered by the circular economy aspect of the Innovfin Energy Demonstration Projects (EDP) programme, financed by the European Commission
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €30.8 million of support for Repetco Innovations S.L., a Spanish company established in Albacete in 2017 that has developed an innovative patented process for recycling PTTs (pots, trays and tubes) made from multi-layer PET/PE (polyethylene terephthalate (PET) / polyethylene (PE)) food packaging into recycled PET (rPET) and recycled PE (rPE).
The construction of the plant involves a total investment of €55 million and the creation of 48 direct jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs. The project consists of the construction and operation of a commercial-scale multi-layer post-consumer plastics delamination and recycling plant with a maximum input capacity of 150 000 tonnes of mixed plastics per year and final production of around 45 000 tonnes of rPET pellets per year. Located on the Romica industrial estate in Albacete (Castilla-La Mancha), the plant will be operational by the end of 2022 and will have a new recycling process to transform multi-layer post-consumer PET/PE into recycled plastic (rPET and rPE).
The resulting recycled plastic can be reincorporated into the production of new PET container and tray packaging sheets for thermoforming PTTs used in the food industry and/or bottles (for water, beverages and detergents) and/or fibres for the textile and automotive industry.
The construction of the plant, which will be funded by equity capital, shareholder loans, grants and EIB financing, is supported by the circular economy aspect of the Innovfin Energy Demonstration Projects (EDP) programme, financed by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 framework programme. This mechanism provides financing to companies and projects to help them overcome difficulties in marketing their innovations.
Plastic recycling is a high-priority area for the European Commission due to its resource-intensive nature, high potential for circularity and current low recycling rates. This operation offers a new approach to recycling post-consumer multi-layered food-grade plastic, which until now has mainly been landfilled or incinerated due to the difficulty of delaminating the different layers of plastic. In addition, the project contributes to meeting EU recycling targets while also supporting the transition to a circular economy through its contribution to increased recycling.
“Waste management has become a major concern in industrialised countries,” said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix. “Recycling efficiently means cleaning up the planet while at the same time fighting climate change. This is why we're proud to be joining forces with Repetco Innovations to build a commercial-scale, state-of-the-art plastics delamination and recycling plant without the use of toxic components that are harmful to the environment. We are therefore contributing to the achievement of EU recycling targets and supporting the transition to a circular economy.”
Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “This project brings us step closer to a circular economy. It will allow us to recycle 150 000 tonnes per year of plastics that are currently being landfilled or incinerated due to the lack of technological solutions. Technology supported by Horizon 2020 and InnovFin will thus have a concrete impact in our environment. Our desire is for such facilities to be built in other countries and regions in the future to more widely disseminate this good practice.”
Rafael Sánchez-Castillo Lodares, Founder and CEO of Repetco Innovations, stated: “The EIB's financial support is a strong endorsement of a highly innovative project in the recycling of multi-layer food-grade plastics. We believe that the construction of the factory in Albacete strengthens a region that is making a clear commitment to innovation for the benefit of the productive economy.”
Background information
The EU climate bank
In 2020, the EIB Group adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to allocate more than 50% of its financing to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the Roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have also been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since early 2021.
In 2020, for the fifth year in a row, the EIB Group increased the percentage of its activity in Spain intended to promote projects that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, up to a total of 38% (€2.85 billion), a 9 percentage point increase on the previous year. The EIB uses these funds to help develop clean transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energies, and to modernise the electricity networks, among other projects.
InnovFin financial and advisory products
Under Horizon 2020, the new EU Research and Innovation programme for 2014-2020, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services to help innovative firms access finance more easily. Until 2020, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will offer a range of tailored products to finance support for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium and large companies and the promoters of research facilities.
Thanks to funds set aside under the Horizon 2020 programme and by the EIB Group, InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators backs research and innovation activities which, due to their nature, carry a higher risk and are more difficult to assess than traditional investments and therefore often experience difficulties in accessing financing. All products are demand-driven instruments, provided across all eligible sectors, countries or regions. Firms and other entities or projects located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries are eligible as final beneficiaries.
InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects provides loans, loan guarantees or equity-type financing typically between €7.5 million and €75 million to pioneering and innovative commercial-scale demonstration projects in the fields of renewable energy technologies, smart energy systems, carbon capture and storage or carbon capture and use, as well as circular economy, helping them to bridge the gap from demonstration to commercialisation. The product is deployed directly by the EIB.