Fych Technologies

Fych Technologies, established in November 2020, operates within the cleantech and environmental services sector, focusing on developing advanced solutions for plastic recycling. The company is a spin-off from the University of Alicante, born from years of dedicated research in waste management and plastic recycling by its founders. The founding team includes Andrea Cabanes (CEO), Oksana Horodytska (COO), and Andrés Fullana (Scientific Advisor). All three founders have a strong background in chemical engineering, with their doctoral research at the University of Alicante directly informing the company's core technologies. Fullana, a Professor of Chemical Engineering, is a co-inventor of nine patents and has been involved in creating four technology-based companies. Cabanes' and Horodytska's PhDs focused on eliminating odors in recycled plastics and tackling challenges in the plastic recycling sector, respectively, leading to multiple patents and scientific publications.

The company's business model is twofold: operating as a plastic recycler in Spain and licensing its patented technologies internationally. Revenue streams are diversified, including the sale of high-quality recycled plastic, royalties from technology and machinery sales, selling proprietary chemical reagents, and providing technical consulting. Fych serves a range of clients across the plastics value chain, such as polymer manufacturers, plastic product producers, and plastic recyclers. The core of Fych's offering is a suite of patented technologies that address significant hurdles in plastic recycling. These include a delamination technology (DL-Tech) for recycling complex multilayer materials, which are often landfilled, a decontamination process to remove pollutants and make recycled plastics safe for food-contact applications, and a deodorization technology (DESORECH) to eliminate unwanted smells, thereby increasing the value of the recycled material. The delamination process uses a water-based solution to separate layers and remove inks and adhesives, making it a more sustainable and scalable option compared to competitors who often rely on solvents and high temperatures.

Fych has established a pilot plant for delamination at the Alicante Science Park and another for deodorization in Tarragona. The company has received funding from entities like the European Union, the European Innovation Council (EIC), and Lanzadera accelerator, and is planning to invest in an industrial-scale plant. The company's key achievement lies in its ability to process multiple types of multilayer waste and potentially be the first to market with recycled polyethylene suitable for food contact, a significant milestone for the industry.

Keywords: plastic recycling technology, cleantech, circular economy, multilayer plastic recycling, plastic decontamination, recycled plastic deodorization, waste valorization, sustainable materials, environmental services, delamination technology, food-grade recycled plastic, chemical engineering spin-off, Alicante Science Park, advanced recycling solutions, waste management innovation, patented recycling process, polymer recycling, plastic upcycling, sustainable packaging solutions, industrial recycling