Circular Plastics Accelerator invests in Evoralis
The Circular Plastics Accelerator, supported by Archipelago Ventures, makes an investment into Cambridge Spinout Evoralis
LONDON, 6 September 2024 – Evoralis, a pioneering company specializing in the discovery and development of plastic-depolymerizing enzymes, has raised £2.5M in a Seed funding round. The round was led by LIFTT S.p.A with co-investment from Circular Plastics Accelerator and Archipelago Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, Backbone Ventures, as well as angel investors. CPI has successfully converted their convertible loan into equity, acquiring shares in the company.
About Evoralis
Evoralis, a spin-out from the University of Cambridge Hollfelder Lab, harnesses a unique ultrahigh-throughput screening platform based on microfluidics to discover and refine enzymes capable of breaking down complex plastics into their constituent building blocks. This platform, which accelerates enzyme screening by up to 1,000 times compared to traditional methods, is a game-changer in the pursuit of an economically viable circular economy for textiles and plastics.
The Demand and the Solution
The textile industry is at a critical juncture, with global fiber production nearly doubling over the past two decades to 109 million tonnes in 2023 much of which is not, and cannot be, recycled. The challenge of recycling mixed and blended fibers is immediate and pressing; Europe alone generates approximately 6 million tonnes of post-consumer textile waste annually, with 60% of clothing sold today containing fossil-based plastic which cannot easily be recovered using existing methods of recycling.
Evoralis is addressing this challenge with its groundbreaking enzymatic technology, which will offer a viable solution for recycling over 80% of textiles, including those composed of mixed and blended fibers containing plastic. Evoralis’ revolutionary approach will enable the separation of different materials within textiles, and has the potential to unlock a USD 560 billion economic opportunity.