COMUNERGY is building a pan-European network of DEPYRO stations — local energy-material hubs that enable municipalities to process their own material flows on site, without dependence on external processors and without any upfront investment from the municipality.
The story of COMUNERGY begins in 2009, when the project's founder first learned about pyrolysis — a technology capable of converting hard-to-recycle materials into valuable industrial feedstock. Years of searching followed. The market was full of unverified suppliers and unfulfilled promises. Most leads went nowhere.
In 2013 came a turning point — a meeting with a technology partner who had years of development behind him, real operational experience and deep expertise in the field. From that moment, it was clear that the technology existed. The question was where and how to deploy it.
The following years meant dozens of negotiations with municipalities, technical services departments and waste management companies across the Czech Republic. Everyone knew pyrolysis existed. No one had ever seen it in operation. And local authorities could not classify it — the environmental department saw an incinerator, the building authority saw an industrial line, fire services demanded documentation that in practice not even standard processing facilities could satisfy. The different departments simply could not agree.
Meanwhile, the technology partner built two pilot units in the Czech Republic. Both demonstrated that the technology works. Both were eventually shut down — not for technical reasons, but for administrative ones.
Around 2022, the regulatory environment shifted. The non-waste regime opened a pathway for processing secondary raw materials outside the traditional waste framework. But the problem had changed.
There was no longer any need to prove that the technology works. Pyrolysis as an industry has existed for decades — it simply did not meet the standards for normal placement for most of that time. Over the years the technology has been refined to the point where today there are machines that can be placed in a standard light industrial zone without anyone in the vicinity noticing their operation. No odour, no noise. If you placed benches around such a station, people would sit down without a second thought — noticing nothing beyond the occasional arrival of a vehicle delivering material.
Yet the problem was never just about machines. Ongoing monitoring of dozens of manufacturers and operators across Europe has shown that projects fail for three reasons — either the technology is not economically viable in operation, or the operating crew lacks proper training, or there is no stable and quality feedstock supply. The DEPYRO network is designed to eliminate all three risks: we work with technology whose operating costs are proven in practice with a real return on investment under 4 years. Every operation includes full operator training and continuous remote monitoring. And feedstock is secured through long-term agreements with municipalities.
But the real problem runs deeper. It is about people's attitude towards material they have thrown away. A piece of plastic that someone tosses into a bin ceases to exist for them in that moment. Yet it carries an enormous amount of energy and raw material. We bring that material back into circulation — right where it was created, for the municipality that produced it.
Between 2023 and 2025, a complete business model was developed — a BOT structure where the investor finances, COMUNERGY builds and operates, and the municipality gradually becomes co-owner of a running operation. In January 2026, the DEPYRO brand entered the market, and the first municipalities in the Czech Republic and abroad are entering partnership discussions.
The project's founder first learns about the technology of converting plastics and tyres into industrial feedstock. A systematic search for manufacturers begins.
A partner is found with deep operational experience and more than a decade of development. The beginning of a long-term collaboration.
Dozens of negotiations with municipalities, technical services and waste management companies. The technology exists, but authorities cannot classify it. Pilot operations in the Czech Republic demonstrate functionality — but are halted for administrative reasons.
The non-waste regime opens a pathway for secondary raw material processing. The question shifts from "does it work" to "how do we bring it to people."
Development of the complete BOT structure — investor finances, COMUNERGY builds and operates, the municipality becomes co-owner. Legal framework, financial models, SPV structure.
Launch of the DEPYRO brand. First municipalities in the Czech Republic and abroad enter partnership discussions. International partner network. Finalisation of the COMUNERGY BV holding structure.
DEPYRO is not an incinerator operator. Not a waste processor. Not a supplier of "green solutions" without an economic foundation.
DEPYRO is a technology and operational partner for municipalities in the local processing of material flows. The facility does not process waste — it processes sorted secondary raw materials that meet product criteria under applicable legislation.
Thermal treatment is not the purpose of the project — it is one of the internal processes through which energy and raw materials are recovered from a municipality's material flow, without transport, storage or dependence on external facilities.
Today, municipalities pay for the collection, sorting and processing of materials outside their territory. DEPYRO keeps both value and energy on site.
The difference from existing operations is not that this is "nicer." It is that the municipality has real control over the facility.
COMUNERGY continuously monitors developments in the pyrolysis sector and works with technology partners who have more than 15 years of development and dozens of installations behind them.
The technology we work with meets the strictest standards for placement in a light industrial zone. Regulatory objections are no longer an obstacle.
The DEPYRO network is inherently open to multiple technology suppliers. Each project may work with a different manufacturer, provided they meet network standards. The goal is healthy technological competition — the problem we are solving is too large for a single player.
Each station undergoes an individual certification process tailored to its specific material flow and configuration. The certification framework includes ISCC, REDcert2 and DNSH assessment.
Laboratory tests confirm consistent quality of the output hydrocarbon feedstock across different types of input material — from shredded tyres to all common types of plastics. Variability is limited to viscosity and compositional ratios.
A demonstration line is in operation in the Czech Republic.
Access to the demonstration facility is part of the partnership process — we provide it to municipalities and partners in an advanced stage of discussions. Due to the protection of current technological development, we do not offer public tours.
A visit to the demonstration facility is the last step before a partnership decision — not the first. We are looking for partners who come with the intention to act, not merely with curiosity.
The COMUNERGY network emerged as a response to the concrete needs of people from different fields — representatives of municipalities, investors, processors of secondary raw materials, waste management companies and technology suppliers. Over fifteen years of negotiations and cooperation, a core team has gradually crystallised, together with a circle of partners with whom we are expanding the network.
The project is led by a founder with more than 15 years of experience in municipal infrastructure and direct experience from negotiations with dozens of municipalities across the Czech Republic and Europe. On the technology side, we work with suppliers with more than 15 years of pyrolysis unit development. The international partner network covers key European markets — Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The COMUNERGY BV holding structure, the SPV model and the Shareholders' Agreement (SHA) framework are in the final stage of preparation. The formal legal and corporate anchoring is being completed gradually, in line with the first signed projects.
Statutory body: COMUNERGY BV i.o.
We are looking for partners to build the European DEPYRO station network.
