The NetherlandsNeste and Ravago plan to form a partnership to build a chemical recycling facility in North Sea Port in Vlissingen, The Netherlands.

The facility will serve as a jumping-off point for global chemical recycling activities based on Alterra Energy’s thermochemical liquefaction technology advancements, a leading chemical recycling technology business based in the United States. As a result, Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and drop-in renewable feedstock and solutions for the polymers & chemicals industry will demonstrate and advance the commercialization of chemical recycling with Ravago, the world’s leading distributor and recycler. Regulatory permission is required before the deal can go through.

Together, Ravago’s plastic waste mechanical preparation experience, Alterra Energy’s proprietary liquefaction technology, and Neste’s hydrocarbon processing expertise form a powerful strategic collaboration for both companies. A first industrial chemical recycling site in the North Sea Port of Vlissingen is being planned by Neste and Ravago with an annual processing capacity of about 55,000 tons of mixed plastic waste, which is equivalent to the plastic packaging waste generated by about 1.7 million EU citizens* on average each year. To become a global leader in chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste, the partners’ long-term goal is to considerably increase processing capacity on a global scale.

This targeted investment is a continuation of the rapid growth in the partnership’s cooperation, which has been made consistently in the past few years. By 2030, Neste and Ravago plan to process over 200,000 tons of mixed waste plastic, a joint goal they announced in 2019. These firms began evaluating raw material markets, chemical recycling capacity development technologies, and building collaborative business cases as a result. As early as 2020, Neste’s oil refinery in Finland will successfully complete the first of numerous industrial trials using liquefied waste plastic.