Partnership to aid rollout of Black Bear carbon black recovery technology

MMEC Mannesmann GmbH (MMEC), a global leader in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and Black Bear, the Dutch tyre to carbon black upcycling company, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the rollout of Black Bear’s technology to produce recovered Carbon Black (rCB) from end-of-life tyres.

MMEC Mannesmann is well known for executing complex projects in the oil, gas, refining, chemical and renewables industries. The German general contractor carries key expertise in executing turnkey projects starting from early project developments, feasibility studies, conceptual, basic and front-end engineering design up to detail design, procurement and construction. Being involved in highly innovative and large-scale engineering projects worldwide, MMEC is seen as the ideal strategic partner for Black Bear in the rollout of the technology.

Black Bear is a leading manufacturer of green, sustainable rCB – the world’s first ‘Cradle-to-Cradle’ certified carbon black. The Dutch scale-up has developed a unique carbonisation process to transform used tyres into valuable resources. In several industries, rCB is used as an additive in rubber, tyres, plastics, coatings plastics and inks, bringing black colour into products.

While carbon black currently is produced by burning oil in a very energy-intensive and CO2-emitting process, manufacturers are looking for sustainable alternatives to reduce their environmental footprint. One of Black Bear’s clients is AkzoNobel, the world leader in paints and coatings.

“To meet the growing demand for rCB and receive a substantial impact to meet the waste tyre problem we need to rollout our proven technology,” explains Joost Raimond, construction director at Black Bear. “Being in the EPC industry for many years, I know that the partnership with MMEC is a game-changer in our time-to-market as we now can offer real turn-key plant realisation to clients who want to use our technology.”

As part of the strategic partnership, MMEC will perform the detailed engineering, procurement and construction of Black Bear’s facilities. Johann-Georg Rathgeb, head of technologies of MMEC Mannesmann says: “Black Bear’s proven technology is highly promising. We have been closely monitoring their technology developments for quite some time now. Considering the lessons learned of their first industrial sized pilot-plant and despite the fire that happened in early February, we are convinced that together we can realise state of the art plants across the globe.”

The initial focus will be on already identified sites together with partners inside Europe. Given MMEC’s strong presence in the Middle East, this region will also see Black Bear facilities emerging in the future.

“We are delighted about this partnership with Black Bear,” commented Oliver Apelt, chief executive officer of MMEC Mannesmann. “We carry strong belief in their technology and look forward to rolling it out around the world.”

Martijn Lopes Cardozo, chief executive officer of Black Bear, added: “This is a big step forward for Black Bear. Bundling ourselves with MMEC’s expertise and resources will set a high pace in our global rollout and bring the circular economy to tyres.”

“The partnership with MMEC came about through intense and diligent cooperation between our management teams and will undoubtedly prove to be of unmatched value for the future of our industry,” said Jan Jonkman, founder of Black Bear.