Enval secures seed funding for breakthrough recycling technology
A syndicate of investors has backed University of Cambridge spin-out Enval Limited to enable it to scale up its novel and commercially viable waste processing technology, which extracts aluminium, oil and gas from laminated packaging waste, such as drink cartons and toothpaste tubes.
After seeing Enval’s prototype demonstration unit, Tetra Pak and several other companies and government agencies have offered support for the development of the technology.
Tetra Pak UK & Ireland Environment Manager Richard Hands said the technology was “very promising” and “if successful on a large scale will substantially increase recycling in the UK.”
Enval’s technology was initially the basis of a PhD project by Carlos Ludlow-Palafox (pictured) who has been working on the idea for eight years alongside his supervisor, Howard Chase, Professor of Biochemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cambridge. Together they formed Enval in 2005.
Dr Ludlow-Palafox said: “The opportunity is immense. Drink cartons collection and partial recycling has been increasing at 12% a year since 1992, but there is tremendous room for growth if we can recover value from the residue of the paper recycling process, in a way that is not only environmentally friendly but that also brings large economical advantages”.
Waste mountain
The EU produces over 1 million tonnes of drink cartons a year, of which about 30% is already collected post-consumer and taken to paper mills to be partially recycled. However, the valuable aluminium contained in most of the residue is usually lost and consigned to land fill.
The syndicate of investors, led by CREATE Partners, was formed when Enval won both the 50k and 3P Cambridge University Entrepreneurs (CUE) Business Plan Competition last year.
The syndicate has made an initial seed investment of £200,000 with a view to further investments over the next three years. The cash will allow Enval to build an execution team and a pilot plant for industrial demonstration over the next 6 to 9 months, and to secure initial contracts with industry partners around the world.
CREATE CEO Boyd Mulvey said: “Enval is a ground-breaking opportunity. The new process offers industry a simple and cost-effective solution to solving a serious environmental problem. Enval has a robust, patented technology, and, now with venture capital and angel investor backing, the company has the financial resources to deliver that solution”.
CREATE worked with GEIF Ventures, Cambridge Angels, Cambridge Capital Group and The University of Cambridge Challenge Fund to put the seed funding package together.
As well as laminated packaging, Enval plans to develop solutions for other types of wastes.
8th November 2005
