Innovative Plastics Technology Patented “Breaking Point” design makes conventional plastics recyclable

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The Leipzig-based start-up Aevoloop has received around €8.25 million in investor and public funding to bring its patented plastics technology to market. With a novel “predetermined breaking point” design, the company makes conventional plastics fully recyclable and biodegradable.

As part of a seed investment round, the chemical start-up Aevoloop raised approximately €3.25 million. Together with nearly €5 million in funding from the EU and the Free State of Saxony, the company can now take the next major steps toward commercializing its circular technology. According to the founders, the process enables high-performance, chemically recyclable, and biodegradable plastics, combining for the first time the advantages of conventional polymer materials — performance, versatility, and cost-efficiency — with true circularity.

The start-up replaces certain links in standard polyethylene or polypropylene chains with bonds that can be selectively opened — creating a kind of “predetermined breaking point.” While retaining all functional properties during use, these materials can be chemically broken down at the end of their life cycle into their basic building blocks and reprocessed into new plastics. The resulting material can be used like conventional polyolefins and, unlike other sustainable plastics, is not limited to niche applications. Moreover, the biodegradability of the new polymers offers a potential long-term solution to the microplastics problem.

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To accelerate market entry, several renowned impact and technology funds participated in the seed round: alongside lead investor Circulate Capital, Positron Ventures and bmp Ventures (via the IBG Innovationsfonds) also invested.

Public funding comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Saxony, co-financed through a joint R&D project funding program administered by the Saxon Development Bank (SAB). The support is part of the “Saxy Plastics” project, in which Aevoloop collaborates with the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, the University of Leipzig, and the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC).

Capital for development, team growth, and pilot projects

With the total of €3.25 million in seed investment and nearly €5 million in public funding, the start-up has a clear roadmap: to advance its technology, expand its team, and launch additional pilot projects with industrial partners — for instance, to develop new products such as films, injection-moulded parts, and fibers.

“Plastic isn’t inherently bad — it’s how we use it,” says Dr. Manuel Häußler, co-founder and scientific lead at Aevoloop. “Our technology makes plastics completely reusable. This way, we combine the performance of conventional plastics with genuine circularity. Our goal is a world where sustainable plastics can be reused endlessly — without waste and without loss.”

Wolfgang Hafenmayer, founding partner of lead investor Circulate Capital, adds: “Aevoloop’s technology represents a major leap forward for the circular economy of polyolefins. For the first time, we have a true material alternative — without the trade-offs other solutions entail. This kind of scalable innovation can drive systemic change across the entire plastics value chain.”

The underlying technology can be implemented immediately on existing extruders and injection moulding machines. Production costs are also comparatively low, whereas purely bio-based alternatives are often significantly more expensive.

The company has already launched its first pilot lines and projects, supported by strong partners such as the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (Sprind) — which contributed nearly €1 million in seed funding — and the Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC), with which Aevoloop maintains a close research collaboration.

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