Turning Plastic Waste into Value: Visionaries Tomorrow Invests in Radical Dot
Unlocking an outsized market opportunity in the trillion-dollar plastics and chemicals sectors, Radical Dot upcycles materials currently deemed unrecyclable into fundamental chemical building blocks at cost parity with fossil-based options. Continue reading to find out how.
The European chemical industry at a crossroads
The European chemical industry has long been a cornerstone of the continent’s economy, driving GDP and employment with a turnover of €655B and 1.2 million direct jobs created in 2023 alone. Particularly in Germany, this sector has traditionally been a key player, delivering a turnover of €225.5B, which makes it the country’s third-largest industry. However, the industry now faces unprecedented turbulence. The end of cheap Russian gas has dramatically increased production costs, leading to major players like BASF and Evonik scaling back operations.
Meanwhile, non-European players are expanding rapidly, acquiring what were once the crown jewels of European industry. Abu Dabi-based ADNOC, for instance, is increasing its shares in OMV/Borealis and is set to acquire Covestro for a mere $16B. As challenges mount, the industry is turning to sustainability and innovation as a potential way out of its crisis. Ilham Kadri, President of the European Chemical Industry Council and CEO of Syensqo, recently stated, “We support the European Green Deal and believe that it’s time to transform Europe into a global innovation leader”. But is this enough to navigate uncertainties in the industry?
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is at the heart of making the chemical industry more sustainable. The sector is responsible for over 5% of global emissions — far exceeding aviation’s 2.5% — with fossil fuel-derived carbon feedstocks as the main culprit. Enter plastic waste, which currently poses a major environmental issue with over 90% not being recycled. The abundance of this material reserve (hitherto seen as waste for landfills) in fact presents an interesting opportunity to provide the chemical industry with a more sustainable and affordable source of carbon. Yet, building a profitable business case around plastic waste recycling has proven difficult.
While investments have been made in the space, many efforts failed due to high energy requirements and the high labor costs associated with sorting mixed plastic waste. The need for pure polymer waste streams, and the high costs of sorting, have made most large-scale recycling efforts financially unviable as of yet. Although the European market has traditionally been a leader in this space, it remains difficult to compete economically, and solutions dependent on green premiums have faced significant challenges. Many companies — Blue Cycle, Vinylrecycling, Umincorp, Ecocircle, Stiphout Plastics, and Bage Plastics to name a few — collapsed in 2024 as a direct result of this, leaving them unable to compete with primary plastics made from fossil fuels.
Financially competitive plastic recycling emerges as a potential game-changer
Every major challenge also presents opportunities. Amid this struggle, startups with cost-competitive solutions are seen as potential game-changers, and Radical Dot is leading the charge in this arena. Founded in 2024 by Dr. Andreas Wagner and Alexandre Kremer, Radical Dot is developing a low-energy catalytic process that could dramatically transform the plastic recycling industry. Their innovative approach can efficiently process mixed plastic waste without requiring significant external energy input. This addresses two of the most critical economic barriers to recycling — high sorting labor costs and high energy requirements — making large-scale recycling not only feasible but potentially highly profitable.
That’s why we couldn’t be more excited to announce that Visionaries Tomorrow and UVC Partners co-led the €2.7M pre-seed round in Radical Dot, with the aim to further develop their financially competitive plastic waste upcycling technology.
Why we invested
At Visionaries Tomorrow, our investment thesis is rooted in the belief that sustainable solutions must tackle fundamental challenges faced by industries today. And they need to achieve this while maintaining or improving the bottom line. Radical Dot embodies this principle through its commitment to making plastic recycling both sustainable and economically viable. By reimagining materials previously deemed unrecyclable, Radical Dot provides the chemical industry with an opportunity to embrace circular economy principles and positively impact the environment while addressing their financial struggles.
Our extensive conversations with industrial players across the entire plastic waste value chain validated and reinforced our insights gained from our plastic recycling deep dive. The consensus is clear: the industry desperately needs solutions like Radical Dot’s to drive the essential transformation required for sustainable growth.
A promising future
Looking ahead, Radical Dot is well on its way to achieve key milestones, including the construction of a demonstration plant and securing strategic research and development collaborations with important industrial partners. Their approach not only aims to capitalize on the growing pressure for sustainability and economic competitiveness within the industry, but it also aligns with regulatory trends across Europe that mandate the increased use of recycled materials.
As we embark on this exciting journey with Radical Dot, we are proud to play our part in fostering a more sustainable and efficient future for the chemical industry and beyond.
For more information, please visit Radical Dot’s website or reach out to our team at Visionaries Tomorrow.
