Ineos, Plastic Energy plan German facility

Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe and Plastic Energy have announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to produce 100,000 metric tons per year of recycled raw materials from plastic scrap.

The companies say the production site in Köln (Cologne), Germany, will involve “the largest use of Plastic Energy technology on the market.” The recycled-content “Tacoil” produced “will enable a circular approach to produce essential plastic items that meet the requirements of demanding food contact and medical applications,” say the companies.

Ineos, “Plastic Energy’s patented TAC recycling technology will turn difficult-to-recycle plastic waste otherwise destined for incineration or landfill into a valuable raw material [known as] Tacoil, a Plastic Energy product that can be used to create virgin-quality polymers," Ineos says, with the London-based company adding it also will invest in technology to process the Tacoil and feed it to its steam crackers, where it will replace traditional raw materials derived from oil.

“This use of advanced recycling enables plastic waste to be turned into new, virgin-quality materials that can be used in demanding applications where safety standards require the highest level of product purity and performance,” according to Ineos.

“Our position is that advanced recycling has to be done at scale in order to make the process environmentally and commercially viable," says Rob Ingram, CEO of the Ineos business unit involved. I’m therefore delighted to take this first step with Plastic Energy towards building that kind of capability from day one.”

Carlos Monreal, founder and CEO of Plastic Energy, says, “We are pleased to announce this project with Ineos to further scale our portfolio of plants in Europe. Tacoil from our recycling process has already been used in products that have been commercialized on the European market, and we look forward to working with Ineos to enable the production of more recycled content.”

Ineos and United Kingdom-based Plastic Energy first announced a collaboration to explore the construction of a commercial scale plant in 2020. The companies say Tacoil already has been successfully converted into virgin-quality polymer through the Ineos cracker in Köln, and has been “used by selected customers and brands to demonstrate the viability and demand for materials from advanced recycling.”