Australian enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco has raised $54 million in a Series A funding round as it prepares to scale its infinite recycling operations with the construction of its first plastic recycling facility later this year for operation in 2023. The funding will also be utilised to grow the company’s engineering team and possible expansion into Europe and North America.
Samsara’s investors include Breakthrough Victoria, Temasek, Assembly Climate Capital, DCVC and INP Capital, alongside founding and returning investors; deep tech fund Main Sequence, Woolworths Groups W23 and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) Innovation Fund, managed by Virescent Ventures.
Samsara Eco’s infinite recycling makes use of plastic-eating enzymes that break down plastic to its core molecules regardless of colour and state.
“Plastic is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and provides enormous utility because of its durability, flexibility and strength,” Paul Riley, CEO and Founder of Samsara, said. “Yet, plastic is an environmental disaster, with almost every piece of the nine billion tonnes ever made still on the planet.
“You can’t solve the climate crisis unless you solve the plastics crisis,” Riley added. “Unlike other alternative recycling practices, our process is economical, with a low carbon footprint and allows for the effective recycling of challenging plastics including coloured, multi-layered or mixed plastics and textiles. Our technology means we have enough plastic in the world already and with our technology you never need to produce plastic from fossil fuels again.
“Every minute of the day, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic ends up in our oceans,” Riley said. “By 2050, the volume of plastic by weight will exceed fish in the sea. We’ve had fantastic growth so far, but the plastic problem is growing faster. Access to this funding will enable us to accelerate the capabilities of infinite recycling and scale our technology which breaks down plastics in minutes, not centuries.”
Samsara is working alongside its first partner, Woolworths Group, to bring the potential of infinite recycling to supermarket shelves. The first enzymatically recycled packaging is set to be launched in Woolworths next year.
“Samsara is a powerful example of how deep tech can be used to solve real world problems,” Phil Morle of Main Sequence said. “Its breakthrough technology based on science has the potential to end our reliance on fossil fuels for plastic creation, and with it, bring us one step closer to ending the plastic pollution crisis we currently face. These are exactly the type of ideas and startups we want to help grow and scale.”
The story was originally published on Inside Small Business.
