Enviro, Antin partnering to recycle 1 million tonnes of tyres by 2030

On 29 March, Scandinavian Enviro Systems and Antin Infrastructure Partners announced the formation of a joint venture. Michelin is supporting this JV, which it expects will “create the world’s first large-scale tyre recycling group.”

The new partnership will combine Enviro’s patented technology for the extraction of carbon black and pyrolysis oil from end-of-life tyres with Michelin’s strong position in sustainable tyres and Antin’s expertise in developing and scaling infrastructure platforms to enable the recycling technology to be developed on an industrial scale. The first plants established as part of the JV will supply recovered carbon black and tyre pyrolysis oil to Michelin under a multi-year agreement.

Initial investment in the JV will be funded by Antin’s NextGen platform, which will be the venture’s majority owner. Enviro’s ownership in the joint venture will ultimately correspond to approximately 30 per cent. As part of the agreement, Enviro will license its patented technology to the JV on an exclusive basis throughout Europe. Looking ahead, Michelin plans to partner in the JV as plants are built in the future.

“Today’s announcement is a significant step in our ambition to achieve a circular and more sustainable tyre production,” comments Maude Portigliatti, executive vice president, High Tech Materials at Michelin. “This is further proof of Michelin’s ability to step up to achieve its 2050 strategic ambitions and reduce the tyre’s overall environmental impact by forging innovative partnerships for an ever more circular industry.”

First plant in Sweden

The first full-scale commercial plant will be built in Uddevalla, Sweden, with initial capacity to recycle 34,500 tonnes of disposed tyres, equal to 40 per cent of the country’s annual volume of end-of-life-tyres. Plant construction is scheduled to start in the first half of 2023, subject to a final investment decision by the JV, and the plant should be fully operational by 2025. As Enviro has shared on prior occasions, the long-term plan for the facility in Uddevalla is to process up to 60,000 tonnes per year.

Following successful commissioning of the Uddevalla plant, acceleration of the European roll-out will commence. Enviro’s Year End Report for January to December 2022 provides information on projects that the company “assesses as having the biggest probability to be realised within 24 months,” and here it mentions a facility in the UK with an annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes of tyres; a feasibility study is being carried out. “Site selection in other European countries has been initiated to ensure a rapid roll-out, with an aim to build recycling capacity for up to approximately one million tonnes of end-of-life tyres by 2030, corresponding to a third of all tyres being disposed of in Europe each year,” commented Michelin on 29 March.

Accelerating the tyre circular economy

The volume of disposed end-of-life tyres has been steadily growing to reach 3.5 million tonnes per year in Europe alone. The joint venture between Enviro and Antin’s NextGen platform will develop, with the support of Michelin, end-of-life tyre recycling plants throughout Europe to produce sustainable raw materials. These include reclaimed carbon black and oils that can be reused in the tyre and petrochemical industries.

Replacing virgin carbon black with Enviro’s recycled carbon black can reduce carbon emissions by 93 per cent. Based on the target volume of one million tonnes of end-of-life tyres, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 670,000 tonnes.

An ideal platform

“I am very proud and pleased with today’s announcement which represents a significant recognition of Enviro’s technological and market leadership in recycling of tyres,” states Alf Blomqvist, chairman of Enviro. “With Antin’s successful track record in scaling infrastructure platforms and its strong industrial understanding, and Michelin’s leading position in sustainable tyres, we have found excellent partners to jointly accelerate our pan-European plant expansion and contribute to making the tyre industry circular. Enviro will now be able to focus on our core business and competencies such as technology and material development, optimisation and quality control.

“Antin is very excited to partner with Enviro and Michelin to create the world’s first large-scale tyre recycling business,” add Anand Jagannathan and Rodolphe Brumm, NextGen partners at Antin Infrastructure Partners. “Enviro’s patented pyrolysis technology and its highly experienced management team, combined with Michelin’s world-leading position in sustainable tyres, makes this an ideal platform. Antin has always been at the forefront of identifying key areas of tomorrow’s infrastructure and we believe this JV will play a critical role in accelerating Europe’s circular economy. We look forward to working with Enviro, Michelin and the JV’s management team to quickly scale the JV to its full potential.”