TotalEnergies SE (NYSE: TTE) has inked an agreement with Plastic Energy to stimulate the development of advanced plastic recycling. As per the agreement, Plastic Energy intends to set up a second sophisticated recycling plant in Sevilla, Spain, in addition to their current operational plant.
The plant will revolutionize end-of-life plastic waste into a recycled feedstock called TACOIL leveraging Plastic Energy’s patented recycling technology. TotalEnergies will be responsible for transforming this raw material into virgin-quality polymers, which can be utilized for food-grade packaging.
Furthermore, Plastic Energy and TotalEnergies are both devoted to expanding plastics recycling to address the issue of plastic waste and to create a circular economy in Europe and around the world. In keeping with this pledge, TTE and Plastic Energy launched a joint partnership in September 2020 to establish a 15,000-tonne-per-year plastic waste conversion facility at the TotalEnergies Grandpuits zero-crude platform in France. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
In addition, the company disclosed that the new plant which it intends to set up will process and change 33,000 tons of post-consumer end-of-life plastic waste yearly, that would otherwise be intended for landfill or burning. The plant is likely to become fully functional in early 2025. The companies are intending to use TACOIL for the production of high-quality polymers in TotalEnergies’ European-based production units, after proven processing experimentation in TotalEnergies’ petrochemical platform in Antwerp.
Moreover, Plastic Energy, Freepoint Eco-Systems, and TotalEnergies commenced a strategic collaboration in October 2021 for a similar recycling plant in Texas, U.S.A. This plant, which is a joint venture between Plastic Energy and Freepoint Eco-systems, will have the power to recycle 33,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year and is likely to be functional by mid-2024.