Novoloop’s Upcycled Plastic Takes A Step Closer To Production

Plastic recycling startup Novoloop has inked a woody pinch a awesome shaper to nutrient its upcycled thermoplastic polyurethane astatine commercialized scale, TechCrunch has exclusively learned.

The statement helps nudge nan Menlo Park-based Novoloop done nan alleged “valley of death” that galore ambiance tech startups must slog through. 

Startups that dangle connected hardware are peculiarly susceptible to stumbling successful nan valley, nan dreaded infinitesimal erstwhile they’ve proven their first exertion and person not generated capable revenues from trading their product.

Under nan position of nan deal, Novoloop will proviso Huide Science and Technology pinch a chemic building artifact utilized to make thermoplastic polyurethane. Novoloop makes nan material, known arsenic a polyol, from post-consumer polyethylene discarded for illustration integrative bags, 1 of nan hardest materials to recycle.

Thermoplastic polyurethanes, aliases TPU, are a type of integrative that’s utilized successful everything from moving shoes to aesculapian devices. 

“For this merchandise line, we person fundamentally achieved what would beryllium nan commercialized relationship,” Novoloop co-founder and CEO Miranda Wang told TechCrunch.

At this point, Novoloop is constrained successful its expertise to proviso polyols, Wang said. Earlier this twelvemonth successful India, nan startup commissioned its objection plant, which is tin of producing tens of tons of nan worldly per year.

The objection plant’s capacity is capable to nutrient capable TPU for “major aviator projects,” Wang said, including 1 for a footwear customer that will beryllium announced successful nan coming months. Previously, Novoloop supplied Swiss footwear shaper On pinch its Lifecycled worldly for nan tread of its Cloudprime sneaker.

Deals for illustration nan 1 pinch Huide will beryllium cardinal for nan Novoloop’s progress, Wang said. “The biggest hurdle to profitability is economies of scale,” she said. “A batch of nan attraction adjacent twelvemonth will beryllium driving a batch of these customer deals to adjacent truthful that we tin finance nan [commercial-scale] facilities.”

Once nan deals and financing autumn into place, Novoloop expects to person its commercialized works up and moving successful early 2028, Wang said. The first type should beryllium capable to proviso capable polyols to nutrient astir 16,000 tons of TPU annually.

“When we tin tally nan materials astatine those types of volumes, we expect to beryllium capable to beryllium astatine value parity pinch virgin TPUs,” she said.