Borealis, EU Project Electro target hard-to-recycle plastics into high-value materials
Borealis is a key partner in Project Electro, an EU-funded research initiative working toward a climate-neutral and circular plastics system in Europe. The project brings together leading universities, including Ghent University, along with research organisations and industry participants to advance electrified, high-efficiency recycling technologies capable of converting low-grade plastic waste into high-value raw materials.
Project Electro focuses on electrified thermochemical processes designed to treat mixed and difficult plastic waste, such as multilayer packaging and contaminated materials.
These processes are intended to produce high-purity olefins, including ethylene and propylene, suitable for reuse in plastics production. By relying on renewable electricity instead of fossil-based energy, the project aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90%, in line with the European Union’s circular economy and decarbonisation objectives.
As a leading consortium partner, Borealis leads the work package focused on developing circular feedstocks for efficient steam cracking. Its activities include assessing full-range pyrolysis oil and its fractions, refining hydrocarbon mixtures for industrial-scale cracking, and developing cracking approaches suited to varying pyrolysis oil qualities.
The company is also applying prefractionation methods, advanced filtration techniques and detailed quality testing to strengthen overall process performance.
Borealis has also linked Project Electro with Project STOP, the waste management initiative it co-founded with Systemiq in 2017. Plastics collected from households in Indonesia through Project STOP are being used in Electro’s research, allowing the consortium to test chemical recycling pathways for complex and low-value waste streams. Borealis has said the collaboration demonstrates how electrified chemical recycling can convert difficult plastic waste into valuable resources through innovation and coordinated partnerships.
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