On October 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that biotechnology startup Rhea's Factory and beverage manufacturer Niagara Bottling have been selected for the DOE's Industrial Technology Validation (ITV) program for their enzymatic PET recycling technology.
This project is one of nine initiatives selected nationwide for the ITV program. It has been awarded $3 million (approximately 20 million RMB) in funding and will undergo industrial-scale validation at Niagara's PET recycling facility in Vernon, California.
Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Berkeley, California, Rhea's Factory utilizes its core platform, "RheaCycle," which employs artificial intelligence to design specialized enzymes that break down PET plastic into its original monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG).
The process operates at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure, enabling the treatment of waste streams that are difficult to process via mechanical recycling-such as thermoformed plastics, contaminated PET, recycling residues, and polyester textiles. The recovered monomers achieve a quality equivalent to "virgin" (newly produced) materials and can be infinitely repolymerized into food-grade PET packaging.
Niagara Bottling, a family-owned business with over 60 years of history, operates more than 50 facilities across the United States and abroad. In May 2026, the company acquired the Vernon recycling facility and the "rPlanet Earth" brand, marking a strategic move into the production of high-quality recycled PET. As part of this ITV project, the RheaCycle system will be installed as a parallel production line, expanding the range of PET materials the facility can process without disrupting existing mechanical recycling operations.
Audrey Robertson, an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Energy, stated that the ITV program is designed to provide end-users with reliable, unbiased performance data, helping to remove critical barriers to the industrial adoption of new technologies. During the validation process, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will independently measure energy consumption, water usage, and the quality of the recovered monomers. Dr. Arzu Sandikci, co-founder and CEO of Rhea's Factory, notes that this project-which brings together federal funding, validation from national laboratories, an industrial site, and a proven process-represents a critical step toward the industrialization of new technologies. Site preparation is already underway, with installation and commissioning expected to take six months; the subsequent validation results will directly drive the technology's commercialization process.
