Green news: AP Moller launches EUR1.5 bn green PP/PE venture; EU ReBioCycle project for recycling/upcycling of bioplastics to kick off

Investment company AP Moller Holding has launched a new company Vioneo that will manufacture fossil-free PE/PP in Antwerp, Belgium, using proprietary technology that uses methanol as a feedstock, it adds. Commercial production could start in 2028, subject to offtake agreements, EU regulatory changes and lower energy costs, AP Moller said in a statement.

Vioneo has designed a production method utilising an innovative and proven technology to produce fossil-free PP/PE at scale, using green methanol as a feedstock. This technology ensures a fully segregated and traceable supply chain, avoiding the mixing of non-certified and certified feedstocks. The production will be powered by renewable electricity, significantly reducing GHG emissions. The end-product will be 100% fossil-free and ISCC plus certified, suitable for applications across all sectors including medical appliances, home goods, automotive and packaging.

Vioneo intends to establish its first production complex in Antwerp, Belgium, Europe’s largest integrated chemical cluster. The Antwerp plant will benefit from the region’s expertise in the chemicals industry, strong export facilities and access to renewable energy.

The production plant and supply base will require an investment of nearly EUR1.5 billion of equity and debt. The funding depends on broad stakeholder support, including updated regulatory frameworks and policies supporting a competitive environment for fossil-free plastics, as well as better conditions for the European chemicals industry such as lower energy costs.

Furthermore, AP adds that the success of the venture requires long-term offtake agreements of its customers. Vioneo is in advanced discussions with several major global brands from various industries, including healthcare, automotive, fast moving consumer goods, beauty and home products.

Jan T. Nielsen, Chief Investment Officer of AP Moller Holding said, “Vioneo represents a strategic shift in plastics production. By adopting advanced proven technologies and green methanol, we are addressing fundamental environmental challenges associated with conventional plastics, while simultaneously offering a significant opportunity for Europe to lead the defossilisation of the EUR5 trillion global chemicals and materials sector, securing a leading position for Europe in the transition.”

Vioneo’s projected plans for the Antwerp based plant will proceed in phases, with a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) set to begin in Q4 2024 and with potential Final Investment Decision (FID) in 2025. Commercial operations may commence during 2028.

Meanwhile in other news, the new EU-funded ReBioCycle project provides a portfolio of bioplastic sorting and recycling technologies within three complementary waste-processor-centric hubs. These hubs will be established for different technologies and technology readiness levels (TRL) in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and partly in Ireland. They will be focusing on mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, enzymatic recycling and microbial recycling.

The ReBioCycle project kickoff will take place at the University College Dublin in October 2024. European Bioplastics and its members, including TotalEnergies Corbion, AIMPLAS, Novamont, Corbion, Sulapac, and Kaneka are amongst the 20 partners that have joined forces for developing and implementing "A new European blueprint for circular bioplastics upcycling solutions", under the lead of the University College Dublin and BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre.

At a demonstrative scale and in the real operational environment for the effective and efficient recycling of three types of bioplastics: PLA, PHA and Composites, the project aims to demonstrate the higher impact of obtaining the same or superior grade of recycled polymers in higher-value applications.

Jan Pels CTO and Managing Director of TORWASH, leader of the Dutch hub, indicates that currently “The current recycling technologies available for recycling biodegradable plastics are limited, but with this project we are going to make them widely available. Then nobody can claim that the switch to biodegradable plastics cannot be made, because they cannot be recycled”.

Prof. Kevin O’ Connor, coordinator of the project, expects that “ReBioCycle will scale up and demonstrate biobased biodegradable plastics recycling technologies: Biobased biodegradable plastics can be kept in the material cycle for as long as possible through innovative recycling technologies thus demonstrating that end-of-life biobased biodegradable plastics can be used in the circular bioeconomy.”

ReBioCycle will verify the industrial grade specifications by biopolymer brand owners and via demonstration of real-world products: durable and multi-use packaging. A Life Cycle Assessment analysis and tailored dissemination and exploitation plans will facilitate key exploitable results’ uptake.

ReBioCycle will effectively separate the three types of bioplastics by re-adapting and upscaling sorting technologies. It will also propose a portfolio of bioplastics recycling technologies at a relevant scale and demonstrate through data streams the effectiveness of the proposed technologies, their economic viability, and their possible integration at an industrially relevant scale, while also demonstrating that biodegradable plastics are fully recyclable and up-cyclable. Finally, an analysis of final quality of the material will be performed to confirm the quality of the recycled materials from a functional point of view.

The project will result in a Blueprint, which is a position paper on the state of the art of bioplastics recycling, to provide direct contribution to several European action plans and strategies, such as the Bioeconomy Strategy, the Circular Economy Action Plan, and also the future Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

The ReBioCycle project has received EUR7.5 million funding from the Circular Bio-based Joint Undertaking (JU) and its members under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme.

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