Viridor Ltd, a leading recycling and energy recovery company in the UK has announced a formal offer to acquire Norway-headed waste plastics recovery technology provider Quantafuel ASA, for an approximate consideration of GBP 90 million (≈ EUR 102.3 million) and provide additional capital to support Quantafuel’s current development projects. The proposed acquisition reflects Viridor’s ambition to lead innovation in the plastics recycling sector and deliver full circularity in all four major plastics by 2025.
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Quantafuel’s plastics-to-liquids (PtL) process converts waste plastics into raw material, comparable to virgin fossil fuel-derived refined products.
This material can be used in the chemicals industry for the production of new plastics.
Addresses plastic films
The technology is particularly effective for plastic films which are notoriously difficult to recycle. Every year nearly 400 000 tonnes of plastic film packaging is placed on the UK consumer market but less than 10 percent of it is recycled.
Current mechanical recycling processes typically lead to downcycling in quality and are not suitable for use in the food sector due to strict food safety controls.
The Quantafuel process is explicitly designed to tackle plastic film waste and the need for a sustainable solution to the recovery, recycling, and production of recycled food-grade plastic films.
Complements current recycling efforts
In 2021, Viridor committed to building a fully circular plastics business by 2025 by recycling all four major plastics back to food grade.
In 2022, Viridor opened its Avonmouth polymers processing facility converting over 1 billion bottles a year back into new plastics.
This proposed acquisition marks continued innovation with the addition of plastic film and chemical recycling, opening up the route toward perpetual plastics recycling.
Today marks a critical step on Viridor’s growth journey to build a truly circular plastics economy. Plastics are a key solution in so many aspects of our lives. Advanced recycling processes like Quantafuel’s are essential to ensure those plastics can be recycled again and again. Our proposed acquisition and investment represent the strong commitment both businesses have to ensure we deliver a better environment, said Kevin Bradshaw, CEO of Viridor.
Help reduce carbon emissions from EfW plants
Plastic packaging accounts for approximately 16 percent of the non-recycled waste stream but accounts for roughly 70 percent of the fossil carbon emissions from the Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities that process them.
Removing plastics from the waste stream and recycling them reduces the climate impact from EfW and displaces virgin plastics reducing the reliance on fossil fuels for plastic manufacture.
This partnership with Quantafuel will help drive the decarbonization of our Energy Recovery Facilities by taking plastic wastes away from the non-recycled waste stream and enable us to grow the breadth of our plastic recycling offering. The opportunity to deliver a food-grade plastics film solution to the market is an exciting opportunity for building a world where nothing goes to waste, said Richard Belfield, Development Director at Viridor Group.
Viridor is a good fit and is, just like Quantafuel, determined to play a leading role in transforming the waste sector towards circularity. Plastic waste is one of our time’s most pressing environmental challenges and chemical recycling is key to help solve this. I’m glad that Viridor is eager to position Quantafuel for future growth and take on the next chapter of the company’s journey, commented Lars Rosenløv, CEO of Quantafuel.
