Recycling Technologies (Swindon / UK; www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk) is to install its “RT7000” plastics recycling machine at Brightlands Chemelot Campus (Sittard-Geleen / The Netherlands; www.brightlands.com), a research hub located close to the Antwerp/Rotterdam petrochemicals cluster. The company’s RT7000 system is used to convert plastics waste into feedstock, known as “Plaxx” oil, which is used for new plastics production.

The UK company said the agreement means that its technology will be showcased, tested and deployed throughout Europe. Brightlands Chemelot Campus, together with Chemelot Industrial Park, forms one of the largest research and industrial sites in Europe.

Elena Parisi, sales and marketing director at Recycling Technologies, said the campus “has already attracted a number of companies with smart and commercial technologies to address major ecological challenges, making it another ideal partner for us to advance the development and deployment of our technology in Europe.” The next steps in the agreement with Brightlands Chemelot Campus will be to secure the necessary permitting and planning for the new plant, definition of the site layout and initiation of groundwork.

Bert Kip, CEO Brightlands Chemelot Campus, said the agreement is an important step in implementing the campus’ circular hub strategy for developing innovative solutions to solve ecological problems. “This will involve a step-by-step replacement of today’s fossil fuels – natural gas and naphtha – with circular carbon from plastics waste and biomass, a complex transition process that requires new technologies,” he said.

Recycling Technologies already has a commercial-scale plant in development in Perth / UK, partly funded from a EUR 10m investment from Neste (Espoo / Finland; www.neste.com) and Mirova as well as a grant from Zero Waste Scotland (Sterling / UK; www.zerowastescotland.org.uk – see Plasteurope.com of 13.03.2020). Mirova is an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers (Paris / France; www.im.natixis.com).

The UK chemical recycling specialist also has a partnership with French recycling association Citeo (Paris; www.citeo.com), Total (Paris; www.total.com), Mars (McLean, Virginia / USA; www.mars.com) and Nestlé (Vevey / Switzerland; www.nestle.com) to develop the chemical recycling of plastics in France (see Plasteurope.com of 17.12.2019).