Innventure subsidiary acquires rights to advanced plastics recycling technology

Refinity, a company launched by Orlando-based Innventure Inc., has announced the global licensing of rights from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland for its proprietary fluidized bed advanced plastic scrap conversion technology. Refinity says it plans to use the licensed technology to commercialize the conversion of mixed plastic scrap to chemical precursors for petrochemical production.

Refinity will work with VTT, based in Espoo, Finland, to optimize the technology for conversion of different plastic feedstocks to sustainable chemicals that will replace fossil-derived chemicals. The company says its work will focus on increasing the yield of sustainable chemicals from plastic scrap deemed unsuitable for conventional thermochemical conversion or mechanical recycling and that currently are landfilled or incinerated. Refinity says it plans to scale up and deploy the technology in future commercial plastic scrap-to-value conversion facilities.

VTT’s technology transforms hard-to-recycle, minimally sorted plastic scrap directly into drop-in petrochemical raw materials, including olefins such as ethylene and propylene and has been demonstrated at pilot scale. Refinity says that unlike conventional thermochemical processes, VTT’s offering allows for the conversion of mixed plastic into petrochemical precursors with higher yields and lower CO₂ emissions using scalable industrial process units. Refinity says it expects to integrate its manufacturing plants with existing petrochemical operations, unlocking economics needed to support scalability and push forward the recycling industry.

“We are excited to collaborate with Refinity to commercialize our thermochemical conversion technology, delivering an economically viable waste-to-value solution for a sustainable future,” VTT Executive Vice President Tua Huomo says. “This technology builds on decades of dedicated research and development at VTT. It is truly rewarding to see our innovations being implemented globally through this technology transfer.”

The company says Bill Grieco, currently Innventure’s chief technology officer (COO), will take the helm of Refinity as its CEO. The company says Grieco has spent the last 25 years leading research and development (R&D) and commercialization organizations in the chemical, pharmaceutical, clean tech and specialty materials industries. He holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree from M.I.T. and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech, all in chemical engineering.

Adam Javan will join Refinity as its COO. The company says Javan is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of running businesses at tenured companies as well as startups. Prior to Innventure, Javan served as chief strategy officer of a biotech startup company, leading it to a successful public offering in 2021. He has an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

“This is an important next step in the development and deployment of a differentiated waste conversion process globally,” Innventure CEO Bill Haskell says. “With their keen expertise and knowledge, I’m excited to see what Bill and Adam can achieve with Refinity and look forward to witnessing Refinity’s ongoing collaboration with VTT and Dow.”