Plastic Energy and TotalEnergies announce the start-up of their joint advanced plastics recycling plant, TotalEnergies Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling (TEPEAR), at TotalEnergies’ zero-crude Grandpuits complex outside Paris.
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The facility, which has an annual processing capacity of 15,000 tonnes, uses Plastic Energy’s patented advanced recycling technology to convert hard-to-recycle plastics into circular feedstock for the production of new plastics.
Following the successful production of the first batch of TACOIL earlier this year, the plant is now operational and producing circular feedstock from end-of-life plastics. Plastic Energy’s proprietary TAC technology converts hard-to-recycle plastic waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill or incineration into TACOIL, a circular alternative to traditional fossil-based feedstocks.
The recycled oil is processed at TotalEnergies’ petrochemical sites and enables the production of plastics suitable for demanding applications such as food-contact packaging, medical-grade materials and other high-quality products. This integration demonstrates how advanced recycling technologies can be deployed at industrial scale within existing petrochemical value chains.
“The start-up of the Grandpuits recycling plant marks an important milestone for advanced recycling in Europe and highlights the strength and efficacy of Plastic Energy’s patented technology, the robustness of our process, and, above all, the dedication and expertise of our outstanding team. We are proud to share this success with our partner, TotalEnergies. Together, we’ve shown what is possible when leading companies combine their capabilities to create scalable, sustainable solutions for the future of plastics,” said Ian Temperton, Chief Executive Officer at Plastic Energy.
"The start-up of the first advanced plastics recycling plant in France is an important milestone in the conversion of our Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex. Alongside Plastic Energy, contributing its technology, and our partners Citeo and Paprec, we are supporting the emergence of a new French plastic recycling activity," commented Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Renewables, Fuels & Chemicals at TotalEnergies.
The technology deployed at Grandpuits has already been proven at industrial scale at Plastic Energy’s commercial plants in Spain and is designed to integrate directly into existing petrochemical facilities. This is particularly important given that less than 30% of the roughly 32 million tonnes of plastic waste generated in Europe each year is currently recycled. By converting difficult-to-recycle plastics into high-quality feedstock for new materials, advanced recycling can help support industry efforts to meet the EU’s goals for circular plastics under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).