Plast Nordic announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Norwegian polymer research centre Norner to build a PET chemical recycling plant in the Nordic region.
The Norway-based chemical recycler is a relative newcomer to the industry which has been preparing to build chemical recycling facilities in the Nordics since 2019.
Plast Nordic has an exclusive commercial agreement for the use of gr3n’s Microwave Assisted Depolymerisation (MADE) technology in the Nordic countries, which include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
The company said it is in the process of choosing a location for its factory, having already examined ‘several’ sites in Denmark and Norway. It listed adequate access to renewable energy, scalability for growth, access to thermal energy, and good logistical capacities as key aspects in choosing a site. Plastic Nord expects to start operating the PET depolymerisation facility in 2028.
Norner will contribute with business strategy, polymer science, and production technical assessments.
Gr3n’s MADE technology is currently being proven at demo scale in a plant in Italy. The Swiss PET chemical recycler signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding with Intecsa Industrial, a Spain-based engineering company to build a 40,000 tonnes/year industrial scale recycling facility in Spain by 2027.
PET bottles and textiles, whether 100% polyester or mixtures containing up to 30% other materials such as PU, cotton, polyether, polyurea are all suitable feedstock for the process.
The technology breaks PET down into its main monomers, in a process based on the application of microwave technology to alkaline hydrolysis, providing an economically viable approach to PET recycling. It breaks down any type of PET and polyester plastic into its two core components - PTA and MEG monomers - which can then be re-assembled to obtain virgin-like plastics allowing endless recycling loops.
The polymers obtained from the process can be used to produce new products, essentially completely displacing feedstock material from fossil fuels, and potentially achieving bottle-to-textile, textile-to-textile, or even textile-to-bottle recycling in a circular system.