A Semi-Serendipitous Journey towards the Commercialisation of a Catalytic Hydrocracking Process for Polymer Waste

This Personal Account reviews the sequence of scientific discoveries that led to a catalytic plastic conversion technology that resulted in the creation of a spin-off company called Plastogaz from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (Switzerland). The story begins with research on the catalytic valorization of CO2, carried out by two PhD students and a master student, and the connections and steps subsequently made, ultimately leading to a plastic transformation technology. The Personal Account highlights the value of diverse research topics within a research group, the benefits of connections between chemistry and chemical engineering, that can lead to interesting synergies and atypical breakthroughs.