As part of a €40 million grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)’s Innovation Fund, PureCycle Technologies will build a polypropylene dissolution recycling facility in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges – targeting an annual production capacity of 59,000 tonnes.
PureCycle’s Advanced Solvent-based Technology for Recycling in Antwerp for Polypropylene (ASTRA PP) project is a circularity-minded alternative to the use of fossil-based raw materials in the production of polypropylene. In turn, this is set to contribute to the European Green Deal’s decarbonizing and circularity objectives, as well as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Green Industrial Deal.
As part of the project, a polypropylene dissolution recycling facility will be built in the NextGen District at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium. It is set to produce 59,000 tonnes of PureFive post-consumer recycled polypropylene resin every year.
This facility is hoped to unlock economic benefits across sectors and meet increasing customer demand for sustainability-minded solutions.
Once the project is complete, it is anticipated to offer PureCycle’s customers a lineup of solutions to comply with EU regulations, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s recycled content targets.
According to the Innovation Fund’s calculation methodology, the project will also avoid 85% of greenhouse gas emissions relative to polypropylene production that uses raw materials.
“This grant from the Innovation Fund is a significant validation of our dissolution recycling technology and Europe’s commitment to building a truly circular economy for plastics,” said PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson.
“The Antwerp facility represents PureCycle’s strategic expansion into one of the world’s most demanding regulatory environments for sustainability, and this funding supports our goal of delivering recycled polypropylene at scale to European brand owners and manufacturers. We are proud to be part of the solution that policymakers, consumers and brands are demanding.”
PureCycle first announced its intent to build the facility back in January 2023. A variety of funding options were being considered at the time, from traditional financing sources to uniquely available grants and subsidies for circular projects established in the EU.
In other news, PolyCycl is using Series A investment from Rainmatter by Zerodha to deploy its technology for recycling low-grade plastic waste into feedstock for the production of low-carbon materials. The atented chemical recycling technology platform turns plastic waste, including single-use polythene bags, into liquid hydrocarbon oils; these are supplied to oil, gas, and petrochemical companies to be used as feedstock in further material production, including food-grade virgin plastics.
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