RES licences BlueAlp pyrolysis technology

Italian waste management company Recupero Etico Sostenibile (RES) will license pyrolysis chemical recycling technology from Netherlands-based firm BlueAlp, to build a 20,000 t/yr plant in Pettoranello del Molise, Italy, to process difficult to recycle plastic waste.

The firms signed an engineering, procurement and fabrication (EPF) agreement this week, with BlueAlp to supply a technology licence and manufacture the plant equipment at its factory in the Netherlands before shipping to the site in Italy. BlueAlp chief executive Valentijn de Neve told Argus that fabrication is expected to take around one year, with the plant expected to begin operating by mid-2026.

RES will own and operate the plant alongside its existing mechanical recycling facilities in Pettoranello del Molise. It recently commissioned a new advanced 40,000 t/yr sorting centre at the same site which will provide feedstock to the pyrolysis plant.

Positive step

A licence agreement with a waste management company should be seen as an important step for the pyrolysis industry, de Neve said, as it demonstrates that such a company sees chemical recycling as complimentary to its existing waste management activities.

UK-based waste management firm Viridor bought chemical recycling firm Quantafuel last year, but de Neve said that the licensing model is more affordable and accessible to a wider group of waste management firms. Involvement from such companies in addition to petrochemical producers — which have been the most frequent early adopters in chemical recycling — can help to accelerate the development of the industry, he said.

The European petrochemical sector is facing economic challenges, amid tough market conditions globally, a generally higher cost base in Europe and the need for the industry as a whole to invest in renewing or replacing ageing production units to meet ever stricter environmental targets.

Saudi Arabia's Sabic and ExxonMobil have both announced their intention to close European steam cracker capacity in the past month, and LyondellBasell launched a strategic review of its European olefins and derivatives assets on 8 May, raising questions around the sale or closure of some of its facilities.

But de Neve played down any risk to investments in chemical recycling, saying that many market participants continue to see circularity as a key component of their competitiveness. Indeed, LyondellBasell said itself that its investments in a commercial-scale plant to convert plastic waste into liquid raw materials, and its development of a circularity hub in Cologne will continue as planned.

De Neve also said the recent progress of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) — which will set mandatory recycled content targets for plastic packaging — through the EU parliament, and the parliament's rejection of an objection to the European Commission's support for fuel use-exempt mass balancing rules, are positive developments for chemical recycling. As legislation has developed, companies have been more keen to speed up progress on new pyrolysis projects, he said.

By Will Collins