Alterra’s industrial-scale waste plastics liquefaction unit in Akron, Ohio
Neste, provider of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, acquires a minority stake in chemical recycling technology company, Alterra Energy. Neste’s equity investment supports Alterra Energy’s expansion. The collaboration between the companies will include joint technology development and global technology licensing, enabling the partners to collaborate in commercializing Alterra’s proprietary thermochemical liquefaction technology in Europe.
Alterra’s technology reportedly enables a broad range of plastic waste streams from diverse post-consumer sources to be liquefied into a material similar to crude oil. Such material can be flexibly processed and upgraded by companies like Neste into high-quality feedstock for polymers and chemicals production.
The companies are working together towards a global rollout of Alterra’s liquefaction technology with a strong initial focus on Europe, a leading market in the global transition towards making plastics value chains fully circular. With this, the companies aim to accelerate the adoption of chemical recycling and develop capacity to turn hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-quality, high-performance polymers and chemicals. The collaboration of the companies supports Alterra Energy’s target of commencing the construction of a state-of-the-art liquefaction site in Europe during 2021.
Alterra’s existing industrial-scale waste plastics liquefaction plant in Akron, Ohio produces commercial volumes that can already be refined and upgraded into high-quality feedstock for plastics and chemicals, according to Neste. This, together with Neste’s refining capability, reportedly enables sustainability-oriented brands globally to start introducing recycled content into their products and offerings.
For more information, visit: www.neste.com
