Pyrum, SUEZ building UK tyre pyrolysis plant

Pyrum Innovations is bringing its pyrolysis-based tyre recycling technology to the UK in partnership with SUEZ recycling and recovery UK Ltd. The two companies have entered into a one-year exclusivity agreement for a facility with three pyrolysis reactors that can process approximately 20,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres annually. During the year SUEZ will determine the plant’s location and, with support from Pyrum, begin and finance the approval process.

“The European rollout of our unique technology is progressing,” states Pascal Klein, chief executive officer of Pyrum Innovations AG. “With SUEZ we were able to win one of the leading companies in the field of sustainable solutions and innovative technologies for the British circular economy. In the future, Pyrum and SUEZ will benefit from each other’s expertise. The first location should now be determined as soon as possible. Then we will carry out the approval process together with the local authorities.”

John Scanlon, chief executive officer of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, adds: “The agreement is an exciting milestone for SUEZ. As a leader in the development of a resource efficient UK circular economy, we are delighted to be working with Pyrum who are also leaders in their field. With our experience in delivering new infrastructure, SUEZ is the natural choice to introduce this innovative technology in the UK, which will significantly improve the recycling of end-of-life tyres and significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to current tyre recycling technologies. We look forward to working together over the coming year to develop plans for the first UK facility.”

Plants across Europe

The project in the UK is one of several facilities that Pyrum Innovations anticipates in Europe, having recently signed letters of intent with “several companies” for joint projects. Pyrum is also in the final phase of expanding its main plant in Dillingen/Saar, Germany and has obtained a plot of land for another facility in nearby Homburg.

With the move to the UK, Pyrum states that it and SUEZ are “opening up the promising British recycling market for scrap tyres.” It notes that of the approximately 50 million or 480,000 tonnes of tyres that are discarded in the UK each year, around 13.4 million tyres are currently used as alternative fuel. The remainder are shredded and ground into crumb for use on sports pitches or playgrounds, or else are sent for energy recovery or to landfill.