Demeter Partners of Paris, invested Euro1.5 million in Trez, a specialist in the processing a hazardous zinc-based waste, enabling the start-up to complete construction of its first treatment plant in Aiguebelle, France.
TREZ was founded by Laurent Rizet, an electrochemical engineer, along with a group of industrialists. The Aiguebelle treatment plant is expected to come into service during the summer of 2008.
This plant will handle the zinc-bearing hazardous waste which it will recycle to obtain pure zinc powder. It will have an annual treatment capacity of 20,000 tons of wet zinc-bearing hazardous waste and 4,000 tons of electro-zinc liquid produced in zinc galvanization processes. From this it will generate approximately 3,000 tons of zinc powder.
The treatment process will reduce the amount of hazardous waste going to landfill whilst producing a valuable end product.
Demeter is a Euro 105 million European investment focused fund dedicated to the financing of cleantech start ups.
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