PolymerActive

About PolymerActive

PolymerActive GmbH is a German cleantech company that transforms plastic waste into high-performance filter materials for air and water purification. The company was founded in Offenburg, Germany, in 2022 by Moritz Ruff (CEO) and Dr. Adrian Monteleone (CTO). The initial idea emerged in 2017 while the founders were at Furtwangen University. Dr. Monteleone, a biotechnologist with expertise in the toxicology of microplastics, recognized the potential to leverage the inherent pollutant-binding properties of plastics. Ruff, with a background in business informatics and management consulting, brought the commercial and strategic expertise to the venture. Together, they secured an EXIST start-up grant in July 2021, which enabled the company's launch.

The company's core technology is a patented, innovative upcycling process that converts unavoidable plastic waste, such as polyamides, into porous plastic adsorbers. Unlike conventional methods that use heat, PolymerActive employs a chemical process to liquefy the plastic waste and then precipitate it into porous granules. This technique massively increases the material's surface area, creating a 'plastic framework' that can efficiently bind to pollutants like pharmaceutical residues, hormones, and industrial waste. The technology is designed to be robust against contamination and age-related degradation of the input plastics. The resulting filter granules, branded as "Kügele," serve as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional activated carbon, which is often sourced from non-renewable resources like coal. PolymerActive states their process can reduce the CO2 footprint by a factor of 16 compared to conventional activated carbon production.

PolymerActive serves clients in municipal and industrial water treatment, air filtration, and other industrial processes requiring effective pollutant binding. The business model centers on the research, development, and sale of these innovative filter materials and related patents. The filters can be customized for specific pollutant cocktails by functionalizing the surfaces with 'bridge molecules,' enabling them to capture substances that activated carbon cannot, such as heavy metals and certain organic compounds. This makes the technology particularly useful for applications with strict environmental regulations, like filtering fermentation gases and emissions from waste incineration plants. In April 2026, the company closed a Series A financing round of €2.5 million, led by Syngroh Capital, to scale its production capacity from approximately one cubic meter to five to ten times that volume. This investment will help meet growing demand and support market entry into new industrial sectors.