Plastics recycler Pyrowave receives $7-million credit facility from Que. government

The circular economy of plastics by Pyrowave. Image Credit: CNW Group/Pyrowave

Pyrowave, a Montreal-based company that develops technologies for recycling polystyrene waste into new plastics, has received funding to expand its pilot plant and its Centre of Excellence in Microwave Technologies located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que. And hire new workers’

The funding is in the form of a $7 million credit facility.

The purpose of the ESSOR Program is to accelerate the growth of promising Quebec companies to help them become leaders in tomorrow’s low-carbon and circular economy. This investment is the culmination of a series of announcements made by Pyrowave in recent months, including a joint development agreement with Michelin, a French tire corporation and a world leader in the development of sustainable materials. The support announced on Nov. 19 will also help the firm consolidate its partnerships with local suppliers by leveraging the talent of Quebec manufacturing companies to commercialize its platform.

The loan granted by the Quebec Government will help support and improve a team of researchers, creating a dozen jobs, in addition to attracting and retaining talent in Quebec. As part of this financing, Pyrowave will also repatriate its head office to Quebec to consolidate its operations.

“We are proud that the government recognizes and supports the new generation of companies at the source of green growth in Quebec, specifically in the circular economy of plastics, a global issue that provides international growth opportunities,” said Pyrowave CEO Jocelyn Doucet. “Through talents, technological know-how and geographic positioning, the Province of Quebec is a strategic location to support our growth and development.”

The loan granted by the Quebec Government will help support and improve a team of researchers, creating a dozen jobs, in addition to attracting and retaining talent in Quebec. As part of this financing, Pyrowave will also repatriate its head office to Quebec to consolidate its operations.

The Pyrowave technology platform is the result of a Quebec innovation using microwaves to manufacture chemicals more efficiently and with a lower carbon release than traditional processes because it uses electricity which can be entirely renewable. This innovation reduces the environmental impact of products and reduces the waste generated by traditional processes.

One of its applications is to return plastic waste to its original form, monomers, which can then be reused in original applications identical to those using virgin materials. “This approach avoids the extraction of virgin raw materials and therefore avoids all the environmental impacts associated with the transformation of these virgin materials into finished products,” Pyrowave said.