BOTTLE

What BOTTLE does

BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) is a U.S. Department of Energy multi-organization research consortium launched in 2020 and led by the National Laboratory of the Rockies. It is not a product company; its mission is to develop new chemical upcycling strategies for today's plastics and to redesign tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design. The consortium integrates six national laboratories (NLR/NREL, Argonne, Oak Ridge, SLAC, plus associated labs) and four universities (MIT, Northwestern, Colorado State, UPR-Mayagüez, UW-Madison), with University of Portsmouth as the first international partner. BOTTLE organizes research into three core tasks (Deconstruction, Building Blocks, Redesign) supported by three crosscutting activities (Analysis, Characterization, Modeling).

The consortium's technical platform spans selective catalytic deconstruction (reductive, oxidative, and homogeneous catalysis targeting polyolefins, mixed plastics, and C-O/C-N-linked polymers), enzymatic depolymerization and biocatalysis, and a proprietary polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) platform for recyclable-by-design polymers. World-class characterization infrastructure (SLAC synchrotron beamlines, advanced mass spectrometry, ASTM biodegradation assays) and rigorous techno-economic and life cycle assessment tooling (Aspen Plus, SimaPro with ecoinvent/TRACI) underpin the research.

BOTTLE's revenue model is government appropriation rather than commercial sales. It is funded by the DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, with $25M announced in March 2020 and an additional $27M in October 2020. Industry partners (Amazon, The North Face, Patagonia, P&G, Kraft Heinz, BASF, Syensqo, Lululemon) co-fund and direct research through pre-negotiated Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), receiving first option to exclusive license subject inventions and access to national-lab facilities and researchers.

Name

BOTTLE

Legal name

BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment)

Website

https://bottle.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

BOTTLE is a U.S. Department of Energy research consortium that develops chemical and biological upcycling technologies for plastics and designs recyclable-by-design polymers, serving industry partners across the plastics value chain through pre-negotiated CRADA agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Golden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. U.S. Department of Energy Funding: BOTTLE is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. Initial funding was $25 million announced in March 2020, with additional $27 million announced in October 2020.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BOTTLE is a U.S. Department of Energy research consortium that develops chemical and biological upcycling technologies for plastics, including enzymatic depolymerization, catalytic deconstruction, and redesign of polymers for recyclability. It does not sell commercial products; instead, it offers collaborative R&D programs through CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) mechanisms, where industry partners fund and direct research projects and receive exclusive license options for resulting inventions. The consortium provides access to national laboratory and university researchers, world-class characterization facilities, and techno-economic and life cycle analysis capabilities.

Product overview

BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) is a U.S. Department of Energy multi-organization research consortium—not a product company. It does not offer commercial products for sale. The consortium provides collaborative R&D programs, world-class characterization facilities, and partnership opportunities through CRADA agreements. The consortium's research is organized into three core research tasks (Deconstruction, Building Blocks, Redesign) and three crosscutting activities (Analysis, Characterization, Modeling). BOTTLE members gain access to national laboratory and university researchers, prenegotiated CRADA agreements, and first option to license subject inventions developed during collaborative projects. The consortium does not manufacture or sell physical products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BOTTLE Consortium Industry Partnership Program (CRADA-based) Collaborative R&D engagement allowing enterprise companies to direct funding to research projects they select, access national laboratory and university researchers and facilities, and receive a first option to exclusive license for subject inventions developed during their projects.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eastman Chemical: Large specialty chemical company that has commercialized methanolysis-based chemical recycling for PET and polyester, representing the most credible scaled incumbent pursuing pathways analogous to BOTTLE's catalytic deconstruction and polymer upcycling research.

Direct peers

• Carbios: French biotech company developing enzyme-based depolymerization technologies for PET and other plastics, most comparable to BOTTLE's enzymatic depolymerization research thrust and CRADA-style industry partner model with major CPG brands.
• Plastic Energy: Commercial-scale chemical recycling company using thermal anaerobic depolymerization to convert mixed plastic waste into feedstock for new plastics, pursuing the same end-of-life value chain that BOTTLE targets through its deconstruction research.
• Origin Materials: Public company developing biomass-derived chemicals and recyclable-by-design polymers, comparable to BOTTLE's Redesign research task targeting bio-based, recyclable polymer chemistries.
• Brightmark: Company pursuing plastics-to-fuel and advanced recycling pathways, overlapping with BOTTLE's deconstruction and chemical catalysis research focus areas.
• Ioniqa Technologies: Dutch company using catalytic depolymerization to upcycle PET waste into virgin-grade monomers, with similar technology focus to BOTTLE's homogeneous catalysis research for C-O linked polymer depolymerization.
• Novoloop: Chemical recycling startup where BOTTLE CTO Kat Knauer previously led Materials Innovation R&D; directly comparable as an early-stage venture developing catalytic upcycling of polyethylene waste into performance-advantaged materials.
• Loop Industries: Company developing proprietary depolymerization technology to break down PET and polyester into monomer building blocks for virgin-quality plastic, directly aligned with BOTTLE's Building Blocks research task.
• Agilyx: Pioneer in chemical recycling of polystyrene and mixed plastics waste into styrene monomers, directly comparable to BOTTLE's catalytic deconstruction and building-blocks research thrust.

Emerging players

• Cyclyx International: Joint venture focused on feedstock aggregation and preparation for advanced/chemical recyclers, serving as an enabler in the same plastics-to-feedstock value chain that BOTTLE's technologies are designed to serve.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/polyupcycling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-bottle-consortium

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BOTTLE