DePoly inaugurates Showcase Plant in Monthey
- Signed customer volume: 50MCHF.
- Showcase Plant nominal capacity: around 500 tonnes feedstock input per year; created 12 direct and more than 30 indirect jobs.
- Process depolymerizes PET in under 60 minutes under mild conditions, recovering purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) for reuse.
- DePoly targets a first commercial plant at 50,000 tonnes per year, with location to be announced in the first half of 2027.
Inauguration
DePoly inaugurated its Showcase Plant in Monthey on July 6–7. The facility is described as the first depolymerization unit of its kind and scale in Switzerland and hosted industrial partners, investors and institutional representatives for tours and discussions.
From laboratory to industrial scale
Founded in 2020 as an EPFL spin-off, DePoly opened the Monthey unit to move its light-activated depolymerization process from lab validation to industrial demonstration. The plant sits in Monthey’s Industrial Park (CIMO), supports the company’s Sion headquarters and involved a significant investment that created 12 direct and more than 30 indirect jobs; the company has a team of around 30 employees.
Technology and outputs
DePoly's process uses light-activated chemical depolymerization to break PET into its original monomers in under 60 minutes, operating without high temperatures or added pressures. The process recovers PTA and MEG that the company presents as virgin-quality raw materials suitable for packaging, textiles, automotive and electronics, and reports up to 75% lower emissions than virgin PTA (including emissions credits for waste incineration).
Scale-up and outlook
The Showcase Plant will optimise the process, qualify products with industrial customers and collect operational data ahead of commercial deployment. DePoly reports signed customer volume of 50MCHF and is preparing a first commercial plant targeting 50,000 tonnes per year, with its location to be announced in the first half of 2027.
Source: dePoly