By: Maria Williams
Denovia Labs has been in a long-standing chess match against the global plastic issue. After an anticipated wait, the company received its first-of-a-kind commercial plastic recycling machine, Denovia 1.0 Depolymerization machine. Checkmate.
The plastic pollution crisis is a situation we’re all aware of, and according to UNEP, every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes—an incomprehensible number. National Geographic states “Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them.” While there are many applaudable organizations aiding in the clean-up, this doesn’t solve the root of the problem.
Two individuals recognized this dilemma and joined forces to combat plastic waste with an innovative machine from their company Denovia Labs. The duo is Nick Spina, Founder of ethey, and Istok Nahtigal, a physical organic chemist by trade with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical space. “We are days away from receiving and turning on our first machine, which is unbelievable,” Co-Founder Spina says. “It’s a first-of-its-kind facility, a 1000-liter batch system,” enabling them to prove their technology at a commercial scale, which can be run multiple times per day, with plans of scaling to a 50,000-liter facility in the near future.
“Once I discovered the technology and how fast it worked and how efficient it was, it became clear to me that it wasn’t about finding technology anymore. It was about how to scale this up properly. And it’s been about scaling ever since,” Spina shares.
But what exactly is this groundbreaking machine, and how does it solve the plastic crisis at the source?
Hailing from London, Ontario, Canada, the innovative research company has developed a machine capable of breaking down plastic with significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions in record time—between 5-15 minutes, believed to be the fastest plastic remanufacturing process of its kind compared to the industry standard of 5 hours. The reality is that plastics are an “irreplaceable dependency” for most industries, and as National Geographic stated, the world simply can not keep up with “the rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products.”
Denovia Labs does not valorize end-of-use plastics but rather provides a novel and proprietary retroconversion process—which, in layman’s terms, means the company can take pure and impure plastic waste, up-cycle it, and commercialize it for more advanced use (pet pellets) “in performance plastics, agricultural biostimulants, water treatment, recovery of ‘critical metals’ from electronic waste, amongst other novel capabilities and use-cases,” the website states.
The remarkable feature? The proprietary upcycling technology reverts plastic waste into its original chemical building blocks through hydrolysis, so the plastic can be recycled over and over again, making it “an infinitely recyclable, circular system.”
“When you look at typical recycling heat and mold, you can only take 10% of a blue bin statistically, and heat and mold it into different shapes roughly ten times before it loses its integrity, and then that plastic ends up in a landfill or an ocean anyways. So with us, people can feel good and have those bragging rights that they’re using 100% recycled pet Denovia pellets,” says Spina.
The soon-to-be billion-dollar company has set its sights on providing a cutting-edge and economically pragmatic solution which has been made possible thanks to significant backing from the Canadian government in recent years and a team of strategic partners including author and speaker Gary “Vee” Vaynerchuk, CEO of Goodwill Michelle Quintyn, Connor Lyons of Power Sustainable, former COO of FedEx Global Andy Smith, and Bobby Kia, a Climate Solutions Investment and Technology Deployment Strategist. Denovia is also in verbal conversations with industry giants including Henkel, Vinmar, and BASF to become output partners.
“We are proud to report that our revenue projections exceed $15 million, with a gross margin of approximately 65% and an EBITDA margin of 35%,” Spina continues.
Most recently, Denovia Labs has “papered an agreement with Goodwill and the hospitals for 30,000 pounds of hospital garments and have also papered an agreement with TYMAC,” Spina shares, while bringing on Matt Jurjevich from Jett Capital as an equity partner, based out of New York. Jett Capital is currently working on a lead term sheet for Denovia’s Series A funding round, with a targeted valuation range of $85 to $155 million USD.
“They’re a very aggressive group in this space and have definitely made a name for themselves. We spent a lot of time with them in New York and are very excited to see where our relationship can go. The sky’s the limit,” Spina smiles.
Photo Courtesy: Denovia Labs
Not to mention, Denovia is a proud partner of the Canada Plastics Pact and is always looking ahead for ways to help combat plastic waste “putting one step in front of the other as fast as we possibly can.” In partnership with TYMAC, Denovia Labs is excited to announce the launch of their Denovia-branded recycling bins in the British Columbia ports. “Our recycling bins will play a crucial role in dissolving plastic waste from Maersk ships, Norwegian Cruise Line cruises, as well as the Royal Navy! Together, we are making a positive impact on our oceans and setting a new standard for waste management in the maritime industry.”
Photo Courtesy: Denovia Labs
Spina and Nahtigal’s company is significantly aiding in the fight against plastic and reducing its impact on the ecology and environment, including marine life, plastic microscopic particles entering the food chain, and fossil fuels from plastics manufacturing.
As the first Denovia 1.0 Depolymerization machine arrives at the Denovia Lab facility, the road to sustainable change has taken flight.
“Our goal is to create a circular economy that minimizes waste and maximizes the reuse of plastic materials,” Spina concludes.
To learn more about Denovia Lab’s machine set to alter the landscape of the plastic crisis, visit their website here.
Follow Nick Spina’s inspiring journey on his Instagram.
Published by: Khy Talara
