In the Netherlands, Aurora Renewable Carbon BV (ARC), a spin-off from BTG Bioliquids BV, has announced the acquisition of the pyrolysis facility formerly operated by Empyro BV in Hengelo. This strategic move underscores ARC’s commitment to advancing circular-economy technologies and scaling up bio-based carbon solutions for a low-carbon future.
Empyro is a pioneering company in advanced biomass pyrolysis technologies.
Situated on the industrial campus of Nobian Industrial Chemicals in Hengelo (province of Overijssel), the plant was developed to demonstrate and commercialise the fast-pyrolysis of woody biomass into renewable fast pyrolysis bio-oil, process steam, and electricity.
Using BTG BioLiquids’ proprietary technology, the facility processes approximately 120 tonnes of clean wood waste biomass per day and produces around 18,000 tonnes of fast pyrolysis bio-oil per year.
The facility also generates process steam and electricity for internal use and for adjacent industrial operations.
Combine pyrolysis and fractionation
Aurora Renewable Carbon anticipates working with local stakeholders, regulatory authorities, and the existing plant team to optimise operations, explore capacity expansion, and deploy the pyrolysis oil into new markets.
ARC will also evaluate the development of a combined pyrolysis and fractionation biorefinery to produce high-quality pyrolytic lignin and pyrolytic sugars.
Aurora Renewable Carbon looks forward to providing further updates on commissioning progress and commercial offtake partnerships. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
