Pyrum building up to 10 pyrolysis plants with Unitank

Pyrum Innovations AG intends to build up to ten pyrolysis plants for recycling end-of-life tyres (ELT) in the European Union by 2030 together with tank terminal operator Unitank Betriebs- und Verwaltungs GmbH. The two firms agreed on this in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in September. The first plant will be built in Germany, with its exact location finalised by the end of this year and commercial operation probably commencing late 2025.

“By cooperating with Unitank we take another important step towards the commercial rollout of our unique pyrolysis technology to serve the high demand for our products,” says Pascal Klein, chief executive officer of Pyrum Innovations. “We are very pleased to collaborate with an experienced partner in the field of mineral oil logistics and are convinced that both sides will benefit from this.”

Jan Vogel, chief executive officer of Unitank, adds: “The collaboration with Pyrum is an important milestone for Unitank towards expanding our business model to management and operations of circular and CO2 neutral energy infrastructure. We believe that the technology Pyrum has developed fits best to this objective. We are looking forward to a long-lasting cooperation with Pyrum in which we will diligently grow the business to become one of Europe’s leading tire recycling companies.”

Significant expansion of capacities

Each of the planned facilities is to be equipped with at least three pyrolysis reactors and thus has a recycling capacity of around 20,000 tonnes of ELT per year. This represents a significant expansion of Pyrum Innovations’ current capacities. The existing Pyrum plant in Germany is currently being expanded from one to three production lines, with construction work progressing rapidly despite the generally tight supply situation. The additional lines are scheduled to be commissioned at the end of this month.

The partnership with Unitank is additional to the July-announced joint venture with MCapital GmbH, Textor GmbH and Auer Holding GmbH for the construction and operation of a further 20,000 tonne pyrolysis plant in Straubing, Germany. The companies have already secured the property and signed a pre-engineering contract, which essentially provides for the preparation of the relevant approval documents.