UBQ Materials raises US$70M in funding for global expansion

ISRAEL – Tel Aviv-based cleantech company, UBQ Materials has announced the successful closure of a US$70 million funding round for global expansion.

The financing round was led by Eden Global Partners and included participation from existing investors, such as TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s Rise Fund, Battery Ventures, and M&G’s Catalyst strategy.

Additional participants in the financing were return investors in the company, including TPG Rise Climate, TPG’s Rise Fund, Battery Ventures and M&G’s Catalyst strategy.

The investment will support the company’s commercial, sales and marketing scale-up throughout Europe and North America as part of a continuing global expansion.

The company creates bio-based thermoplastic – UBQ – from residual household waste diverted from landfills or incineration, including all organics, into a recyclable alternative for fossil fuel-based plastics.

UBQ Materials is currently working on opening an industrial-scale facility in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes of UBQ, converting 104,600 metric tonnes of waste annually into a new raw material.

“One of the major problems with plastics, and specifically packaging, is that because these are difficult-to-recycle materials, they end up in landfills and contaminate our environment,” Jack ‘Tato’ Bigio, co-founder and co-CEO of UBQ Materials.

“According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over half of municipal solid waste comes from food packaging alone.

“The UBQ process allows for these materials to be upcycled within the mixed waste stream, creating an end-of-life solution that did not previously exist.”

According to the company, over 3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) is expected to be produced annually by 2050, while current approaches to waste management continue to contribute to climate change.

Landfills are the third largest human source of methane, a GHG 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over 20 years, while incineration emits 1.7 kg CO2eq for every kilogram of MSW incinerated.

Every kilogram of UBQ replaces 1 kg of oil-based plastic, diverts 1.3 kg of waste from landfills and incinerators, and prevents up to 11.7 kg of CO2eq emissions measured over a 20-year time horizon, claims the company.

“The funding is aimed at fueling our expansion efforts and the challenges attached to it – namely, creating a bigger organization in terms of people, international operations, new material developments and adjacent activities,” added Bigio.

McDonald’s collaboration

Earlier last week, UBQ Materials expanded its partnership with Arcos Dorados, a McDonald’s franchisee, to provide it with connection boxes and modular wood boards.

Arcos Dorados has been working with UBQ Materials since 2019, previously integrating UBQ materials into serving trays in McDonald’s restaurants across Brazil and the Caribbean.

“When Arcos Dorados began the cooperation with UBQ Materials, we challenged the team to find applications to use UBQ throughout our McDonald’s branches and supply chain,” says Marie Tarrisse, head of social impact and sustainability at the Brazil Division of Arcos Dorados.

“Our collaboration has been an important part of our approach to building sustainable operations and is setting a new standard for environmental responsibility in the restaurant sector.”

Arcos Dorados has integrated condensation-based water recovery and renewable energy sources for the restaurant. Other innovations also include recycled materials on the walls and floors of the franchise.

UBQ Materials worked with Brazilian manufacturer Madeplast to incorporate UBQ into modular wood boards in the bench structures of the restaurant – the first time UBQ has been incorporated into wooden building components. This was done “to create eco-friendly alternatives to everyday materials and products.”

The franchise is replacing resource-intensive materials and lowering carbon emissions to fulfill its global sustainability goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36% in restaurants and offices and by 31% throughout the supply chain by 2030.

Arcos Dorados is the “world’s largest” independent McDonald’s franchisee and has become the first UBQ partner to implement building components made with the waste transitioner.

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