Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc. has bought a majority stake in a company turning landfill-bound plastics back into oil, a sign of the corporation's continued commitment to its clean technology initiative.
Cox provided a $150 million equity raise to Nexus Circular, previously named Nexus Fuels, according to a Jan. 3 press release. The funds will help the company expand its recycling processes and divert more plastics from the landfill. The deal marks the largest investment into an Atlanta startup in the past 12 months.
Cox, the largest private company in Atlanta with $20 billion of revenue, was one of the initial investors into Nexus Circular and funded the company's first commercial recycling facility, located near the Fulton County Airport. Petrochemical company Braskem S.A. and Georgia-based packaging company Printpack Inc. are also investors in Nexus Circular.
Cox's support of Nexus Circular comes from its Cleantech initiative, where the corporation invests and supports sustainable companies with the possibility of acquiring them. The long-term goal for the initiative is to become a full subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, similar to Cox Media Group or Cox Automotive. The corporation expects Cox Cleantech to become a multi-billion-dollar business by 2030 and has invested more than $1 billion into sustainable companies since 2007, according to its website. Its portfolio includes four other companies focused on clean energy and agriculture.
The global plastic waste management industry could reach over $41 billion by 2027, according to Fortune Business Insights. As consumption of plastic products has led to more waste management, it in turn has fostered growth in the market, which could benefit Nexus Circular. The market stood at over $32 billion in 2019.
Plus, the federal government has earmarked hundreds of billions of dollars toward the clean tech industry through the Inflation Reduction Act, another factor that can contribute to the growth of Nexus Circular and Cox Cleantech.
Cox's $150 million investment is the largest for any Atlanta-based startup since crime surveillance startup Flock Safety raised $150 million led by Tiger Global in February.
The size of the raise is particularly significant given current headwinds for capital raises. Investors have pulled back as they’ve switched a focus on growth for profitability, resulting in a shrinking of venture capital availability.
Every three months, funding rounds decreased in Atlanta and nationally. Atlanta’s largest venture deal in the second quarter was $120 million for supply chain unicorn Stord; the third quarter’s was a $40 million raise for cryptocurrency exchange company Yellow Card Inc; and the fourth quarter’s was $60 million for transportation startup CharterUP.
Nexus Circular takes plastic waste from industrial and commercial suppliers to then convert it back into oil using thermo-chemical recycling, which can then make more plastics. The process allows for plastics not typically suitable for recycling, such as styrofoam and film, to be given another life.
To date, Nexus Circular says it has diverted over 7 million pounds of plastic. Following the Cox investment, Nexus aims to build facilities that can process over 250 million pounds of used plastic annually.
The company was founded in 2008 by the former president of Atlanta-based Integrated Environmental Services Inc. Jeff Gold. It is now led by CEO Jodie Morgan, former CEO of Ontario, Canada-based GreenMantra Technologies Ltd.
