Investments: BlueAlp receives funding for pyrolysis-based recycling projects in Europe; GreenDot to acquire 50% of French packaging EPR company

Dutch chemical recycler BlueAlp has announced a major expansion of its footprint across Europe. The company has successfully passed the evaluation stage of the EU Innovation Fund and has been invited to prepare a grant agreement for up to EUR21 million for its upcoming pyrolysis plant in Kampen, Netherlands. Additionally, BlueAlp is simultaneously advancing expansion plans for a second commercial production line at its operations in Oostende, Belgium as well as a scale up plant with LBC Tank Terminals in the Rotterdam harbour.

Twelve months ago, BlueAlp made the decision to expand into building and operating pyrolysis plants next to its established licensing and fabrication business. The licensing and fabrication business has been successful, with two licenses already signed for projects that have taken Final Investment Decision (FID). The plant for RES, a customer in Italy has been fully delivered, and the final modules for BioBTX will be delivered later this year.

Building on the operational track record of BlueAlp Oostend since 2021, the firm says it is now taking a significant step by doubling capacity by adding a second line at Oostende. Building the second line here will benefit from synergies of existing utilities and an existing experienced team. The expansion will add one new line of 24.5 kilotonnes/year input capacity, significantly expanding the site’s processing capacity and securing a steady, scaled volume of high-quality circular feedstocks for the chemical industry. The expanded facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2028.

With the EU Innovation Fund grant for the Kampen project, it will now enter the grant agreement preparation phase, with further preparations required before a final investment decision can be made. Kampen is a project with a permit that BlueAlp has acquired from Shell and will develop further. The grant will be key in supporting the development of this project.

The Kampen project will not only include pyrolysis oil production but also the upgrading of pyrolysis oils due to the growing need in the market for upgraded pyrolysis oil capacities. With this backing, the Kampen facility is projected to start up in 2029, following a successful grant process.

Additionally, next to Kampen, BlueAlp continues to cooperate with LBC Tank Terminals in developing the 40 kilotonnes/year single reactor scale up version of BlueAlp technology benefiting with site integration of the tank terminals. Currently, it is jointly working with LBC Tank Terminals in the FEED phase.

In other news, Norway’s Agilyx ASA announced that GreenDot, its majority-owned holding, has entered into an agreement to acquire 50% of Valorie SAS, a fast-growing state-approved extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling company in France owning 100% of Léko and Léko Pro. GreenDot will share joint ownership and control of Valorie with German environmental services company Reclay International. The transaction is funded from cash within the GreenDot Group and involves no cash outlay and no share issuance by Agilyx.

Léko is one of two state-approved, non-profit household packaging EPR organisations in France, which receives (EPR) fees brands pay to fund municipal collection, sorting and recycling. Since its start in 2020, revenue has grown to EUR 42 million in 2025, with nearly 80% annual growth in the past two years. France generates approximately 4.5 million tonnes of plastic waste each year. In 2024, the French recycling rate for plastic packaging was only 27%, the third lowest in the EU, which averages 42%. France pays approximately EUR1.6 billion per year to the EU related to its non-recycled plastic packaging waste and is working proactively to transform its plastic recycling sector.

The strategic expansion of GreenDot's European recycling platform is expected to create value through three channels:

- Enhanced access to more and higher-quality mechanical recycling feedstock: Léko provides GreenDot's mechanical recycling operations with preferred access to more, higher-quality material, enhancing the platform's EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)-driven growth.

- One-stop-shop for Pan-European EPR compliance: Together, Léko and GreenDot can offer brands a one-stop shop for EPR compliance in Germany and France, access to GreenDot's Authorised Representative service, and access to the AI software solution GreenDot is developing with osapiens.

- Cost savings with German EPR: Léko will leverage GreenDot's existing IT, digital tools and account teams, lowering costs in both France and Germany, particularly as Léko grows.

GreenDot's ambition is to grow Léko toward a 10% share of the French household packaging recycling market, increasing the value of each of the above.

GreenDot will pay an initial consideration of EUR4 million at closing. The agreement also provides for two potential milestone payments, dependent on Leko's revenue growth. Milestone payments are voided if the anticipated synergies are not achievable due to regulatory constraints. Total consideration, including milestone payments, is approximately 2-3 times GreenDot's projected annual EBITDA improvement and is capped at three times the initial consideration.

The acquisition is funded from cash within the GreenDot Group. There is no cash outlay and no share issuance by Agilyx. Léko will not be consolidated in GreenDot's accounts.

SUBSCRIBE to Get the Latest Updates from PRA    Click Here»