IMG Group Launches €15 Million Everbio Innovation Hub for Circular Polymers in Portugal
PORTALEGRE, Portugal — IMG Group has officially launched the Everbio Innovation Hub, a €15 million research and development platform at its industrial site in Portalegre, Portugal. The hub unifies the R&D capabilities of four IMG Group companies — Evertis (PET films), Selenis (PET resins), Renascis (mechanical recycling), and Renewis (chemical recycling) — into a single collaborative infrastructure for developing, testing, and scaling recycled and bio-based polymer materials.
The investment responds directly to accelerating regulatory pressure, particularly the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates increasing recycled content in packaging and drives demand for circular polymer solutions that meet food-contact and performance requirements.
“The Everbio Innovation Hub is our answer to the industry’s need for speed in circular innovation,” said João Miranda, CEO of IMG Group. “By co-locating our subsidiaries’ R&D teams with pilot-scale equipment, we collapse the timeline from lab concept to industrial validation.”
Hub Capabilities
The Portalegre facility brings together pilot extrusion lines for film and sheet testing with recycled content, analytical laboratories for material characterization and food-contact compliance, a PET tray-to-tray recycling demonstration line using Renascis technology, chemical recycling process development for depolymerization through Renewis, and bio-based polymer formulation and processing capabilities from Selenis and Evertis.
Circular Portfolio Focus
Initial projects target four strategic areas. PET tray-to-tray recycling aims to close the loop on PET thermoformed packaging. Chemical recycling of polyester via depolymerization to monomers will enable food-grade rPET production. Bio-based PET/PEF blends seek to reduce fossil carbon footprint while maintaining recyclability. And multi-layer film solutions are being designed for recycling without compromising barrier performance.
Funding & Partnerships
The €15 million investment includes financing from C2 Capital Partners. The hub is actively seeking brand owner and retailer partnerships for joint development projects aligned with 2025–2030 sustainability commitments.
Resources
- Recycling Today: IMG Group Launches Everbio Innovation Hub
- Plastics News: IMG Group invests €15M in Portugal hub
- World Bio Market Insights: IMG Group backs circular polymer innovation hub
- Ecotextile News coverage
Company Boilerplate
IMG Group is a Portuguese multinational specializing in polyester-based materials for packaging, fibers, and specialty applications. Through subsidiaries Evertis, Selenis, Renascis, and Renewis, the group covers the full value chain from resin production to film extrusion, mechanical recycling, and chemical recycling technologies.
Source: IMG Group press release via Recycling Today, June 18, 2026