Plastic recycler Ioniqa relaunches in challenging market
In October the company announced its bankruptcy, yesterday it appeared that it could still make a restart: Ioniqa continues in slimmed-down form.
Published on December 11, 2024
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In an economically challenging time for plastic recycling, Ioniqa, a Dutch “national icon,” has relaunched. Although the company continues in slimmed-down form, it retains its innovative technology for chemically recycling PET plastics. This technology breaks down contaminated or colored PET into pure building blocks, theoretically eliminating the need for new petroleum. Ioniqa now sells licenses to companies with the resources to deploy this technology on a larger scale. As recently as 2019, the company was hailed as a “National Icon” and received investments from Coca-Cola, among others. Despite recent setbacks in the industry, Ioniqa is committed to a sustainable future for plastics.
Strategic change of direction
Back in October, we wrote about Ioniqa's bankruptcy. The company faced cheap competition from new plastic from oil, an underdeveloped supply of old PET bottles, and a lack of legal recycling standards. As a result, large-scale use of their technology proved economically unfeasible. In 2023, the company posted a €39 million loss and did not expect to make serious sales until 2025. Ultimately, this led to the bankruptcy of Ioniqa and its sister companies Polyester Now bv and Circular Pet Plastic Upcycling bv.
The announced relaunch represents a significant change in operations.
The laboratory in Eindhoven will be retained, but the plant in Geleen will be divested. About half of the staff will have to leave in this restructuring. Founder Tonnis Hooghoudt emphasizes that this step is necessary to preserve the company's unique knowledge and expertise.“We know the current headwinds in the European plastic recycling market. We stand by our vision that advanced plastic recycling will become big, also because of the ambitious EU targets from 2030.” The focus is shifting from manufacturing to technology development and licensing, where large fossil PET producers can implement the technology to blend recycled PET with fossil material.
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Market challenges in 2024
Last year was particularly tough for the European plastic recycling industry. A combination of disappointing demand and intense competition from Asia and the United States put pressure on the industry. This market situation led to the bankruptcy of five Dutch plastic recyclers, including Ioniqa, in October 2024. The situation illustrates a broader problem: Europe's recycling ambitions are threatened by economic realities.
Technological innovation to the rescue
Ioniqa's unique technology, developed by Eindhoven University of Technology, remains at the company's heart. The process makes it possible to recycle colored and contaminated PET into pure raw materials chemically. This innovation is crucial to the circular economy because it can eliminate dependence on virgin petroleum for PET production. The company reports that several market participants have already expressed interest in the licenses. This interest confirms the value of the technology despite current market conditions.
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