{"id":164744,"date":"2025-04-15T07:22:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T05:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=164744"},"modified":"2025-06-20T12:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:56:07","slug":"pet-recycling-biochemists-found-start-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/pet-recycling-biochemists-found-start-up\/","title":{"rendered":"PET Recycling: Biochemists found start-up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
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\"Dr.<\/a>
Dr Ronny Frank and Dr Christian Sonnendecker in front of a sack filled with shredded PET fruit trays, ready to be broken down into their chemical\u00a0components with the help of the enzyme PHL7. \u00a9 Swen Reichhold, Leipzig University<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The enzyme PHL7 is making headlines \u2013 discovered in a compost heap at Leipzig\u2019s S\u00fcdfriedhof cemetery, it breaks down PET, such as plastic fruit trays from the supermarket, by more than 90 per cent in a record time of just 16 hours. That is twice as fast as previously known enzymes. This biological PET recycling method helps conserve resources, especially fossil fuels and environmentally harmful energy sources. Drawing on these research findings \u2013 which have also been published in academic journals \u2013 biochemists Dr Christian Sonnendecker and Dr Ronny Frank from Leipzig University came up with a business idea and recently founded the company ESTER Biotech<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>In the lab rooms of researchers Dr Christian Sonnendecker and Dr Ronny Frank at the\u00a0Centre for Biomedicine and Biotechnology<\/a>\u00a0(BBZ) on Deutscher Platz, a newly delivered large glass reactor with a capacity of 100 litres stands ready alongside lab equipment, waiting to be put into operation. In adjacent rooms, sacks of single-use PET plastic trays, previously used by supermarkets to sell fruit, are being stored ready for processing. The reactor will be used to break down the PET into its individual components at a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees Celsius by adding the enzyme PHL7 \u2013 all within 16 hours. This is a more efficient system that uses significantly less energy than previous methods, especially when compared to incineration, which releases environmentally harmful emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reactor currently under construction is significantly larger than the existing one. The volumes of PET involved are increasing, as this method is set to become commercially viable. In addition to the enzyme itself, a key innovation was a novel measuring technique developed by Dr Ronny Frank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt allows enzymes to be improved more quickly, cost-effectively and based on data. It can generate large, reliable datasets \u2013 perfect for machine learning. This made it possible to significantly optimise the enzyme: it now works faster, more stably and more efficiently,\u201d says Frank<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After their method attracted attention not only within the scientific community but also in the media, the question arose: \u201cWhat do we do with this now? Let\u2019s start a company!\u201d Encouraged by a friend who had founded the start-up\u00a0Glashaus 3D<\/a>\u00a0with the support of Leipzig University, and by the University\u2019s\u00a0SMILE start-up initiative<\/a>, they took part in the Leipzig Start-up Night in 2022 \u2013 and\u00a0won the audience award with their idea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe public loves the story of the enzyme found in the cemetery that led to the discovery of our process,\u201d says Ronny Frank<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

From that point on, the idea of founding a spin-off really began to take shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the prize money and support from the University Foundation<\/a>, the team purchased equipment to further develop their recycling process and investigate how to increase volumes and improve efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"enlarge<\/a>
The enzyme is produced through fermentation using microorganisms. The cloudiness of the suspension is checked visually. \u00a9 Swen Reichhold, Leipzig University<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Patent research findings before publication <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the aspiring entrepreneurs received funding from the Development Bank of Saxony (SAB) for a validation study \u2013 the first major funding for their budding start-up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWith this funding, we had a year to assess whether our idea could realistically be turned into a viable company,\u201d says Christian Sonnendecker.<\/strong> \u201cSecuring funding, writing applications, setting up lab and office space, and recruiting staff all take a lot of time \u2013 and that\u2019s while still having to earn a living on the side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not all when it comes to starting a business: \u201cWe\u2019re in regular contact with the Department of Research Services. Among other things, it\u2019s about getting advice and also filing patents,\u201d says Sonnendecker<\/strong>. \u201cYou absolutely need someone at your side who understands patent law. The foundation of a business is holding the necessary patents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this, he says<\/strong>, requires a shift in thinking for researchers who want to start their own business or move into industry: \u201cFor understandable reasons, researchers feel a strong urge to publish their results constantly. But in business, you should only publish your findings once they\u2019ve been patented \u2013 that way, you benefit from them yourself, rather than someone else, potentially even a competitor, who might otherwise take and exploit your invention. A basic awareness of legal rights is essential.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To help raise this awareness, Leipzig University\u2019s\u00a0SMILE start-up initiative<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0SEPT Competence Center<\/a>\u00a0offer support to spin-offs emerging from the University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"enlarge<\/a>
This sequence of images shows how the enzyme PHL7 breaks down a PET tray in a small bioreactor at just 65 degrees Celsius. Aside from the enzyme, only water and a pH buffer are required. \u00a9 ESTER Biotech<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Rooted in academia, reaching for the market <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The young entrepreneurs are currently receiving two years of funding through the EXIST Research Transfer programme<\/a> run by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Just a few weeks ago, they founded their company together with two other colleagues: ESTER Biotech GmbH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, they say, they won\u2019t be able to manage without investors \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cat the latest when it comes to large-scale industrial plants,\u201d when their process begins to play a key role in the recycling market. To reach that stage, they\u2019ll also need to invest in marketing and market research. Because the success of their business idea depends on developing something that actually meets market demand: \u201cWe don\u2019t make the product \u2013 the customer makes the product. The customer asks us: can you do this? Do you offer that? Can your enzymes break down my type of plastic? And we either say yes on the spot, because we know it works, or we investigate whether it\u2019s possible \u2013 and if so, how,\u201d explains Ronny Frank<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is done with the support of researchers from Leipzig University, such as the\u00a0junior research group led by Dr Georg K\u00fcnze<\/a>, which is helping to further develop the plastic-degrading enzymes. One of the aims of the now four-person team is to \u201cstay rooted in academia while reaching for the market\u201d \u2013 and to continue securing external funding for research, in other words, to remain rooted in the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The enzyme PHL7 is making headlines \u2013 discovered in a compost heap at Leipzig\u2019s S\u00fcdfriedhof cemetery, it breaks down PET, such as plastic fruit trays from the supermarket, by more than 90 per cent in a record time of just 16 hours. That is twice as fast as previously known enzymes. This biological PET recycling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"High recycling rate in record time - ESTER Biotech","footnotes":""},"categories":[17143],"tags":[5796,10416,5840,14007,24744,10453],"supplier":[26244,1225],"class_list":["post-164744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recycling","tag-biotechnology","tag-circulareconomy","tag-enzymes","tag-pet","tag-petwaste","tag-recycling","supplier-ester-biotech","supplier-universitaet-leipzig"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164744"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=164744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}