When Michelin launched its e.Primacy range in mid-November 2020, the French tyre manufacturer did so in the context of a goal to make all Michelin tyre 100 per cent sustainable by 2050. So how does Michelin plan to achieve this? One answer is the company’s expanding partnership with Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro), details of which were recently released (see separate article). But there are other parts of this plan.
Further details of Scandinavian Enviro Systems’ cooperation with Michelin have been revealed alongside a formal notice ahead Swedish firm’s EGM on the subject of its strategic partnership with Michelin. They include an overview of: licensing rules, percentage ownership of the two companies Chile recycling joint venture and how much Enviro is investing in that project.
Wastefront recently appointed Norwegian international accredited registrar and classification society DNV GL to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment for Wastefront’s proposed tyre to hydrocarbon plant in Sunderland. The Sunderland plant, which was announced last summer and which will be delivered in association with Devaltec LLC, is due to be completed in 2023. Now Wastefront’s Sunderland plant is roughly two years away from operation, the company has shared some of the primary base-case scenario findings from the report with Tyres & Accessories.
Michelin is investing US$30 million in building its first tyre recycling plant in the world in Chile. The project is the result of Michelin’s ongoing collaboration with Enviro, a Swedish company that has developed a patented technology to recover carbon black, oil, steel and gas from end-of-life tyres.
Located in Chile’s Antofagasta region, the plant will be able to recycle 30,000 tons of earthmover tyres a year, or nearly 60 per cent of such tyres scrapped every year nationwide. Work will begin this year, with production scheduled to get underway in 2023.
The new TRA Pyrolysis Group held its first meeting on 26 January 2021 attended by 16 of the association’s members. The meeting identified a number of common interests and objectives ranging from feedstock monitoring, the clear need to influence future regulation governing pyrolysis operators as well as complex issues such as ‘end of waste’ status and planning constraints.
Greenergy is investing in creating low carbon fuels from waste tyre feedstock. According to the company, the project will utilise pyrolysis and hydrotreating technologies to convert waste tyres into renewable drop-in advanced biofuels that can be used in diesel and petrol and qualify as development fuels under the UK’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. The plant will also have the capability to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Klean Industries Inc has been engaged to complete a “Detailed Feasibility Study” to design and build a tyre pyrolysis plant in Greece with Pyrolysis Hellas SA. For the past few years, the two companies have been working together to explore the possibilities of cooperation for the rollout of several facilities through the European Union. With the initial round of funding now completed, both parties are ready to engage upon the next stages of development, feedstock procurement and site design, as a suitable site has been secured and planning permission is underway.
Versalis, the Eni-owned elastomer-maker, and AGR, a devulcanization specialist, have signed an agreement to develop products and applications of recycled rubber. According to the two companies, the aim of the November 2020 agreement is to pool their expertise to develop elastomer-based products made from granulated rubber from post-consumer products in order to meet the circular economy needs of manufacturers of tyres and other rubber products.
2020 has seen increased interest in tyre pyrolysis in the UK and beyond. In response, the Tyre Recovery Association (TRA) is launching a sub-group of interested members to address a number of matters of common importance. The sub-group’s first meeting is scheduled for January 2021.
Norwegian waste tyre recycling company, Wastefront AS has entered into an exclusive long-term project delivery partnership with Devaltec LLC. The partnership will commence with Wastefront’s first waste tyre recycling plant in Sunderland, due for completion in 2023. Wastefront had previously secured a 10-year offtake agreement with Devaltec’s liquid offtaker, Vitol for the production of liquid hydrocarbons and certain non-liquid products due to be produced at the Sunderland plant and future plant sites. Devaltec will now be the primary strategic partner to Wastefront, co-leading the development of all upcoming projects for the next five years. It is contracted to deliver production from multiple plants of minimum 1000 MTD.
Pyrolyx USA Indiana has filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy with the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The 66,000sqft Terre Haute plant had not resumed operations since they were suspended in March, in part leading to its withdrawal from the Australian and German Stock Exchanges in September 2020. The factory cited the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for its suspension. Upon completion, the company claimed the plant was the largest of its kind in the world.
2G BioPOWER, the UK market representative of Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro), has been granted UK state funding to investigate the possibilities for the “large-scale introduction” of its end-of-life tyre recovery technology into the country. The study’s objectives include investigating the recovery of oil and carbon black from domestic end-of-life tyres. The news follows growing interest in the UK’s ELT processing operations in 2020, particularly driven by advanced pyrolysis processes. Tyrepress discusses more on the UK tyre recovery in Session 4 of the virtual Tyre Industry Conference here. The equivalent of 2.5 million Swedish krona (approximately £220,000) has been granted for the study.
Scandinavian Enviro Systems (publ) and Michelin expect the final agreement regarding their strategic partnership will be reached during the fourth quarter 2020 rather than at the end of October, which Enviro previously communicated. The coronavirus pandemic is cited as the reason for the delay in negotiations.
Reclaimed Carbon Black (rCB) firm Pyrolyx, which signed a five-year supply deal with continental in November 2019, has withdrawn from both the Australian and German stock markets.
Waste rubber generated by tyre manufacturing could deliver increased energy savings and business opportunities according to IRR Waste 2 Energy. The company’s continuous pyrolysis technology, which is fully commissioned and in operation at its parent company Carlton Forest Group’s Worksop headquarters, has delivered “tangible results” in both “energy generation and the production of by-products such as pyrolysis oil and carbon char,” the company states. These materials can be refined further to produce high grade engine oil and recovered carbon black (RcB).
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Michelin; Enviro
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