Pyrum & Polyfuels building 4 JV pyrolysis plants

German pyrolysis technology company Pyrum Innovations AG has signed a letter of intent with Norway’s Polyfuels Group AB to jointly build and operate up to four pyrolysis plants for the processing of end-of-life tyres (ELT). The joint venture plants will be based on Pyrum technology and will be realised by Circular Tires AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polyfuels. The partners intend to build pyrolysis plants for recycling waste tyres in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia by 2030.

Pyrum and Polyfuels plan to contractually fix the construction of the plants within the next twelve months. In a statement issued this morning, Pyrum writes that it will “support its partner in all phases of the project, from the planning and construction of the plants to the basic process design and possible distribution channels for the raw materials and products.” In addition, the partners have agreed that Pyrum will participate in the joint investment and receive compensation for its support in the planning process.

Scandinavian pioneers

“After our successful IPO in Oslo, our cooperation with Polyfuels is a first important step for the development of the Nordic market,” says Pascal Klein, chief executive officer of Pyrum Innovations AG. “We are pleased to be working with an equally ambitious partner who – like us – has set itself the goal of striving for a circular economy in the field of waste recycling. The Scandinavian countries are pioneers in this respect and we want to contribute to achieving the demanding goals.”

Geir Langeland, chief executive officer of Polyfuels Group AB, adds: “Polyfuels started the process over a year ago in order to be first mover in the Nordic region regarding ELT projects. Today’s systems in the Nordic region are obviously not sustainable. After evaluating ELT technologies we concluded that Pyrum has an optimal turnkey solution for ELT with a complete business model, not at least regarding offtake ELT oil with BASF. We have already started pre-studies on four projects with partners and located concrete sites for the ELT plants in all countries.”

Significant expansion for Pyrum

Each of the planned facilities will be equipped with three pyrolysis reactors and thus have a recycling capacity of around 20,000 tonnes of ELT per year. Pyrum emphasises that this “represents a significant expansion” of its current capacities. The company is expanding its plant in Dillingen, Germany at present from one to three production lines. It says construction work is “proceeding largely according to plan” despite a “generally tight supply situation.” The new shredder is scheduled to go into operation by the end of February 2023, and a first commissioning of the entire plant is expected by the end of the first quarter.

Polyfuels Group AB is engaged in the collection and recycling of plastics, mixed plastics – both from industry and consumers – and chemical recycling projects with industrial partners.