Freepoint Eco-Systems, Wood sign agreement for Ohio chemical recycling plant

Freepoint Eco-Systems has awarded engineering consultancy Wood with a three-year contract to operate and maintain its chemical recycling plant in Hebron, Ohio, which is approaching completion.

The project, dubbed Freepoint's flagship recycling facility, will use pyrolysis to covert plastic waste into oil that will then be shipped to Louisiana to be used by Shell Chemicals to make new plastics.

The Hebron location is on a 25-acre site and will use an existing 260,000-square-foot building. Freepoint expects to be able to recycle about 90,000 tons per year.

The US-based company started building the plant in December 2022. Back then it expected to start operations in the first half of 2024. In March this year, Freepoint said the Hebron facility was on schedule for completion and should start operating by the end of the year.

Wood will provide full facility operations and maintenance management, employing upwards of 100 people. It will support Freepoint Eco-Systems with operational readiness processes including the development of safety and maintenance management systems.

“This contract marks a new operational footprint, supporting the local economy in Ohio, while bringing our tried and trusted practices and processes to Freepoint Eco-Systems to deliver operational excellence at this world-class facility,” said Jess Stanley, Wood’s president of operations Americas.

In May, Freepoint announced plans to build its first pyrolysis plant outside of the United States. Situated in the Kluizendok site on the left bank of Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, Belgium, the pyrolysis plant is expected to span 10 hectares and have a capacity to recycle approximately 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year.  

The company opened an office in Düsseldorf, Germany, this September in order to support its efforts to expand its chemical recycling operations in Northwestern Europe.