Wastefront appoints ex-Wintershall DEA deputy CEO, COO as chairperson

Norwegian tyre recycling startup Wastefront, has appointed Maria Moræus Hanssen as its chairperson. Heading up Wastefront’s board, Hanssen brings international experience from top-level positions within oil, gas and energy companies such as Hydro, Equinor, Aker and Engie. She has served as a board member of multiple Scandinavian industry leading companies – including Det norske oljeselskap ASA, Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA, and Yara International – over the past twenty years, with current, active board member positions at Alfa Laval, Scatec Solar and Oslo Bygg. She was previously deputy CEO and COO at Europe’s leading oil and gas company, Wintershall DEA. Wastefront has also announced its first £25 million tyre recycling facility will be built in the UK.

Additional board members of Wastefront include co-founder Christian Armand Hvamstad, Halvor Ellefsen (director – head of tankers London at Fearnleys), Jon Gausen (partner at North Bridge Capital Partners Ltd) and Carl Fredrik Odfjell (director at Rederiet Odfjell A/S).

Hanssen comments: “I’m excited to join Wastefront and help address the global issue of unsustainable tyre waste. For many years, end-of-life tyres have represented a problem for which there have been no long-term solutions available that combine innovation with economic viability. I am confident that the founders have assembled a team that can make an valuable contribution to a cleaner future by dealing with this specific waste problem, where end-of-life tyres no longer end up in landfills.

“An important element in bringing about circular economies and sustainable waste handling is to handle waste locally. The UK is a global centre of industry, which makes it an ideal location for our first plant. The plan is to then expand across Europe as the technical solution and business concept continuously evolves.”

Wastefront was founded in Oslo in 2019 by Inge Berge (CEO), Christian Armand Hvamstad (CSO and director), and Vegard Bringsjord (CFO). It converts disused tyres into useful commodities, including liquid hydrocarbons and carbon black, which can then be reutilised in processes such as alternative fuel or ground rubber manufacturing. Wastefront recently received funding from the Norwegian state-owned company and national development bank, Innovation Norway.