Recycled plastic technology company expands overseas and secures investment from Ingka Group, with most products supplied to leading brands in Europe and the United States | Exclusive from Hardcore Krypton

Author | Lin Qingqing

Editor | Peng Xiaoqiu

Yingke Krypton learned that the recycled plastics enterprise "Remo Environmental Protection" recently completed a new round of financing, led by Ingka Investments (an independent investment branch under the world's largest IKEA retailer, Ingka Group), with existing shareholder Asahi Kasei continuing to follow - on invest. Potential Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing. The funds from this round will be mainly used for technology R & D, capacity expansion, and market development.

"Remo Environmental Protection" was established in 2015 and is a technology - driven high - tech enterprise in the recycled plastics industry. Based on the full industrial chain model of "recycling - regeneration - scenario application", the company focuses on the high - value circular utilization of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Its core is to achieve "same - level regeneration" through physical recycling methods. By researching and developing processes such as recycling and sorting (e.g., automatic sorting equipment for polyolefin food packaging waste), deep cleaning, and melt filtration, the performance of recycled pellets is made close to that of virgin materials, and it has obtained certifications such as the US FDA food - grade and the EU RoHS.

The raw materials mainly rely on the large - scale recycling of food packaging waste. The company has established a digital quality traceability system, serving strict scenarios such as food packaging, automotive parts, and high - end textiles for global brand customers, and is actively exploring and constructing high - quality closed - loop solutions.

The global pressure to combat plastic pollution continues to increase, with about 70% of waste plastics ultimately being landfilled or incinerated. Driven by the "carbon neutrality" goals of various countries and ESG compliance requirements, policies and market rules are being adjusted at an accelerated pace. The EU, the United States, Japan, and China's 14th Five - Year Plan have all set clear targets for the proportion of recycled materials in plastic packaging. For example, many countries require the proportion to reach 30% by 2030. Meanwhile, large consumer goods companies such as IKEA have set goals to only purchase renewable or recycled materials by 2030, and brands like Coca - Cola and Nike have also announced targets for using 25% - 50% recycled materials.

According to YH Research's forecast, the global market size of recycled waste plastic products will reach $174.42 billion (approximately RMB 1.26 trillion) by 2030. China accounts for about 60% of the global recycled plastics industry, especially the scale of PP lunch box waste generated by the take - out economy is the largest in the world.

However, this industry has long been dominated by small, scattered, disordered, and polluting workshop - style production. The processing process is highly polluting, the performance of recycled materials is unstable, and there is a lack of safety certifications. As a result, products are mostly used in low - end fields, and the market is highly competitive with low prices, making it difficult to meet the rigid demand of international brands for high - quality, traceable recycled materials. In particular, the localization rate of food - grade recycled PP is extremely low, with obvious technical thresholds and supply - chain bottlenecks.

Targeting this market gap, "Remo Environmental Protection" chose the physical recycling method as its technical path. At the recycling end, the company has developed an automatic sorting equipment for polyolefin food packaging waste, which combines visual recognition and a digital system to improve sorting efficiency and has established raw material grading standards. In the processing stage, through processes such as deep cleaning, high - precision sorting, and melt filtration, it has solved the quality and safety problems of traditional recycled materials, such as low performance, unstable color, and high impurity content.

Its core breakthrough lies in its ability to transform polyolefin food packaging waste into recycled plastics with performance close to that of virgin plastics and that have passed safety certifications such as the US FDA food - grade and the EU RoHS. This enables it to be successfully applied in fields with high requirements for material performance and safety, such as food - contact packaging, high - end toys, automotive parts, and non - woven fabrics, achieving "same - level regeneration" applications, which is different from the common downgraded use model in the industry.

The products of "Remo Environmental Protection" have entered the global brand supply chains of multiple industries, and most of the products are sold to overseas markets (Europe, the United States, and Japan) with strict quality requirements. Relying on its production base in Jiangxi, the company ensures raw material supply by exporting technology and standards, and its annual production capacity has reached the ten - thousand - ton level. Facing the challenges of the full - industrial - chain upgrade in the industry, "Remo Environmental Protection" is trying to export technology, exploring capacity building through overseas cooperation, and plans to set up branches in Europe and the United States to be closer to customers.

In terms of the team, Zhu Kuan, the founder and CEO of "Remo Environmental Protection", has 8 years of marketing management experience in the petrochemical industry and 10 years of experience in the plastic recycling industry. Xiong Wei, the co - founder and CTO, holds a doctorate in polymer science from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and has a technical background in multinational chemical companies. In addition, the "Remo Environmental Protection" team has led and participated in the formulation of several national standards for recycled plastics in China.

Investors' views:

Lukas Visser, the head of circular investments at Ingka Group, said: "Remo Environmental Protection has had a large - scale impact on the local recycling market in China through its strong supplier network and partnerships with leading Chinese take - out service platforms. We hope to further expand this influence through this investment, help solve the global plastic waste problem, and promote the transformation to a circular economy."

Pontus Erntell, the President and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA China, said: "This move by Ingka Investments demonstrates our long - term commitment to the Chinese market. To continuously meet the needs of current and future generations of consumers, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to lead the accelerated transformation of the circular economy outside the IKEA system. The scale advantage and innovation vitality of the Chinese market also provide great opportunities for this transformation."