November 21, 2025 12:33

The PET chemical recycling project based on depolymerization, jointly launched by Saipem and Garbo — the developer of the proprietary ChemPET technology — will receive €15.5 million in funding through the 2024 European Innovation Fund for Net-Zero technologies, supporting medium-scale projects.

Saipem has shared some details on the progress of the ReNova ChemPET initiative, the result of an agreement signed two years ago with Garbo.

An industrial-scale chemical recycling plant will be launched in early 2029 in the province of Novara, northern Italy. The facility will have the capacity to process more than 250 million PET bottles per year.

Depolymerization takes place through a glycolysis reaction: the PET contained in pre- and post-consumer waste — including bottles and other polyester-based materials — is selectively reacted with ethylene glycol and converted into an intermediate product, BHET (bis-hydroxy-ethylene-terephthalate). Once purified, BHET can be reused as a monomer for PET production, replacing fossil-based raw materials.

Notably, the ChemPET technology, jointly owned by Saipem and Garbo, can also process colored or complex plastics as well as polyester textiles, making it a complementary solution to mechanical recycling for closing the loop on PET-based waste.

© Polimerica -  Reproduction prohibited, all rights reserved