cooldown°earth welcomes North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) funding for matterr

– Public funds and public welfare capital accelerate circular technology -

Düsseldorf/Berlin, 15 August 2025

The non-profit cooldown°earth foundation congratulates its portfolio company matterr on receiving funding confirmation from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the EFRE/JTF program "Produktives.NRW." Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Mona Neubaur presented the funding approval on August 6 in Düsseldorf.

To help end the export of waste from industrialised nations-a practice that currently places a disproportionate burden on the world's poorest countries-matterr has developed a globally patented solution capable of repeatedly transforming waste back into high-quality raw materials.

With this funding, matterr can accelerate the construction of its second plant, now on a small industrial scale, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The core technology is the depolymerization of PET under mild conditions. This allows mixed waste such as multi-layer packaging or mixed textile fabrics to be broken down into their primary components and fossil raw materials to be replaced on a large scale. By returning the monomer-based process to primary material quality, it enables molecular upcycling: Polyester textiles, which previously could only be recycled for low-quality applications, are now being used to create products of the highest quality – not only new textiles, but even packaging that is approved for food contact.

"This is a unique partnership," says Wolfgang K. Hoever, founder of cooldown°earth. "A charitable foundation takes the lead, the state follows – and the result is infrastructure that turns hard-to-recycle waste into a circular GreenTech product. This is great news for climate protection and for our region as a business location."

The funding commitment awarded to matterr is not only the first from this programme but also the maximum possible grant amount of €30 million. The planned NRW facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027 with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes.

cooldown°earth is not the recipient of the funding, but an early investor and enabler. Any potential returns from its stake will, in accordance with its statutes, be reinvested in non-profit climate and environmental protection projects.

Background

• The State of NRW and the EU support strategic technologies under the Produktives.NRW (EFRE/JTF 2021–2027) programme to ensure they remain in NRW/Europe. The first grants went to, among others, matterr ("revolPET plant") and Greenlyte. Minister Neubaur highlighted the triple benefit for climate, jobs and innovation. (Pressrelease NRW)

• matterr's own statement details the funding amount, schedule and process; the plant will replace fossil-based PET feedstock with primary-quality recycled material. Pressrelease matterr: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M7p-bQeHOTUP3oAir04FYBjGQmeXzVzg/edit?tab=t.0


About cooldown°earth:

The cooldown°earth foundation is a private, non-profit foundation based in Krefeld, Germany. Founded in 2013 by Dr. Annekathrin Edelmann and Wolfgang K. Hoever, it works to promote social cohesion and climate protection.
Projects include the Digital Climate School, which helps schools integrate education for sustainable development into their curricula. The foundation fosters skills in using new technologies for sustainability and strengthens motivation for the responsible use of the planet's natural resources. www.cooldown.earth

For further information or interview requests:

Wolfgang K. Hoever
-Chairman of the Board-
cooldown°earth foundation
Tiergartenstr.81
D-47800 Krefeld
presse@cooldown.earth

Image note: Photo "Funding handover with Mona Neubaur and Wolfgang K. Hoever"
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bgBMM6d2uUDHW6BxPjfUJHAw06cBpMb-/view
Pictured (from left to right): Thomas Tochtermann (Chairman of the Board, matterr), Benjamin Rump (COO, matterr), Wolfgang K. Hoever (Founder/Board, cooldown°earth), Mona Neubaur (Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia), Melanie Hackler (CEO, matterr), Jan Rückold (Head of Finance, matterr)
Credit: © MWIKE NRW / Bowinkelmann