Neste and Ravago intend to set up a joint venture to build an industrial plant for the chemical recycling of plastic waste in the North Sea Gate in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
The planned facility would be the first step in a joint chemical recycling operation, or the so-called 'advanced recycling', worldwide.
Mercedes Alonso, president of Neste's renewable polymers and chemicals business unit, said, "Chemical recycling has been known for some time as a promising technology to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Now is the time to take it to a new level by developing an industrial-scale solution from the promise.
"By combining Ravagon's and Neste's expertise, we will be able to rapidly introduce technology and start production on a commercial scale. Thanks to purposeful cooperation, we can combine our expertise at all stages of the value chain and make waste a valuable resource. Our goal is clear: we want to be a global leader in renewable and circular economy solutions."
Strategic Partnership
The operation will utilise thermochemical liquefaction technology developed by Alterra Energy, an innovative US chemical recycling technology developer.
Through this project, Neste - a producer of renewable diesel, renewable aviation fuel and renewable drop-in feeds and solutions for the polymer and chemical industries - and Ravago - a distributor and recycler of polymers - will promote the commercialisation of chemical recycling.
The partnership will combine Ravago's expertise in plastic waste recycling, Alterra Energy's liquefaction technology, and Neste's expertise in hydrocarbon processing.
The plant will have a treatment capacity of about 55,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste per year, or the equivilant of plastic waste geneated by approximately 1.7 million average EU citizens per year.
The long-term goal of the partners is to significantly increase treatment capacity globally and develop the joint venture into a global leader in chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste.
Theo Roussis, CEO of Ravago, said, "We are really excited about the progress of our joint project. Now that the location and scope of the investment are clear, we are once again one step closer to realizing our dream.
"Together with Neste, we have all the ingredients for a recipe for success, with which we create scalable solutions and turn non-recyclable waste streams into valuable end products."
Continuation Of Cooperation
The planned investment is a natural continuation of the partners' rapidly advancing cooperation, Neste added.
In 2019, Neste and Ravago set their joint goal of increasing mixed plastic waste treatment capacity to more than 200,000 tonnes per year by 2030.
Since then, both companies have evaluated technologies and raw material markets and developed common business models to develop chemical recycling capacity.
This year, Neste carried out the first of many industrial-scale test runs of liquefied plastic waste at its oil refinery in Finland.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Packaging And Design news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
