Investments from Amcor, Mondelez will move construction Australian chemical recycling plant forward

Global packaging solutions provider Amcor and Mondelēz International, Inc. have announced that they have invested in Licella, an Australian chemical recycling pioneer whose hydrothermal liquefaction technology is claimed to be the most commercially advanced technology of its kind. 
Amcor, likewise headquartered in Australia, had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Licella Holdings to invest in the facility, in December 2022. The development licence for the new facility was also approved.

The present investments will further help Licella move ahead with the construction of what will be its first advanced recycling facility in Australia, although in Canada and in the UK, projects based on the technology developed by Licella are already nearing completion. The new plant will use Licella’s proprietary Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) technology to recycle end-of-life plastic back into a crude oil substitute suitable to produce new food-grade plastic packaging.

As a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology, Cat-HTR uses hot, pressurised water to continuously recycle so-called ‘unrecyclable’ end-of-life plastics. The new Australian facility, called Advanced Recycling Victoria, will initially process about 20,000 tons per year of end-of-life plastic, although plans are already in place to scale up to 120,000 tons per year.

Amcor’s solutions already include options containing more sustainable materials, such as recycled content, said Frank Lehmann, vice president of Corporate Venturing and Open Innovation at Amcor. “We recognize our products can play a vital role in the circular economy, and partnerships like this enhance our ability to deliver innovative solutions for our customers, like Mondelēz International.”
The output from the plant will be available to Mondelēz International through Amcor. In this way, Mondelez will be able to meet much of its Australian soft plastic packaging needs, significantly reducing its need for virgin plastic in Australia, the company said.
It is a welcome development, as there is a gap in sustainable local recycling solutions, said Christine Montenegro McGrath, senior vice president and chief global impact and sustainability officer at Mondelēz International.
Mike Cash, president of Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, added, “Amcor will be able to meet increasing customer demand for recycled content in the region with this investment, as well as take another step closer to achieving our target of 30% recycled content across Amcor’s portfolio by 2030.”

And according to Licella’s current CEO, Dr. Len Humphreys, leadership from the industry is needed to help bring Australia closer to more sustainable plastic waste solutions that deliver both economic and environmental benefits.
“This investment will help advance our Australian facility at a time when demand for sustainable plastic solutions that also help provide food-grade recycled content, is growing,” he said.
Humphreys, who is a company co-founder and co-inventor of the Cat-HTR platform, recently announced a number of impending changes to Licella’s senior leadership team and board, in connection with the company’s focus on the global commercialisation of its technology. After serving 16 years as CEO of Licella, Humphreys is moving to the role of executive chairman. Alan Nicholl, who is currently managing director of Licella, will assume the role of CEO, effective from 1 September 2023. Other changes include the appointment of Don DeFosset to Licella’s  board as a non-executive director and of Victoria Sherwood to the newly created role of executive general manager – Asia & Australasia.