European locations feature in GCEI’s ELT pyrolysis plans

US-based waste-to-energy firm Global Clean Energy, Inc. (GCEI) reports that its Pyrolysis division has selected three European and ten domestic locations where pyrolysis facilities for processing end-of-life tyres into oil, recovered carbon black and steel can be built on a profitable basis. News of these proposed facilities follows the company’s decision not to initiate operations at another pyrolysis plant.

GCEI states that it only engages in projects that are profitable without the help of government subsidies, as these “can change at any time.” It will thus only go ahead with the facilities in Europe and the USA “if the costs, revenues and potential profit margins meet their requirements on an individual site basis.” Information regarding this will be shared “as soon as management is able to release its financing commitment.” A financing package has been completed with the assistance of GCEI’s pyrolysis technology provider, Black & Veatch and Niutech.

Each location given the green light will be established as a Special Purpose Vehicle with liability limited to that specific site. Each location will be a singular profit centre, and all sites shall be owned or controlled by GCEI. The company anticipates an investment of US$40 million to $50 million per site, depending on availability of feedstock and number of pyrolysis lines being installed, and projects per site revenues of between $18 million and $28 million with an anticipated EBIDTA of 27 per cent.

GCEI has yet to disclose the exact locations of the 13 proposed facilities in Europe and the USA.

Existing plant deemed unprofitable

In August 2021, GCEI shared that it was in final due diligence on its first acquisition to purchase an existing tyres-to-fuels plant. The company anticipated that, after acquiring and upgrading the facility, it would become “one of the largest producers of recovered carbon black in the world.

In a statement published yesterday, GCEI confirmed that during the past two years it had signed a letter of intent to purchase a pyrolysis project in Indiana, USA out of bankruptcy court. It described this facility as being “in excellent condition and in a turnkey state of operations” despite having been closed for some time. However, after an “extensive detailed due diligence” including multiple facility visits, GCEI management “concluded that the project was not financially viable and would not be able to operate at an acceptable profit margin.”