21 May 2024
Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding back CIRCTEC, a leader in pyrolysis for sustainable end-of-life tyre recycling, in a €150 million financing round
- Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding have enabled a €150 million fundraise for CIRCTEC by leading with a €75 million equity investment. Financing includes €22.5 million of grants awarded by the Government of the Netherlands.
- The funding enables CIRCTEC to construct Europe’s largest end-of-life tyre pyrolysis recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.
- The construction of the new plant was announced on 17th May at a ceremony attended by offtake parties BP and Birla Carbon and by agencies of the Government of the Netherlands that contributed grant finance – The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and Groningen Province.
Discarded tyres pose significant environmental and health risks, accumulating in landfills, and polluting ecosystems with toxic substances. The current scale of tyre waste exceeds the reach of existing recycling efforts, with over half of Europe’s waste being incinerated or being exported to Asia and Africa for environmentally damaging disposal, underscoring the vital need for innovative solutions in tyre waste management. Moreover, the increasing adoption of electric vehicles will further exacerbate the tyre waste problem as tyres used for electric vehicles wear down faster.
CIRCTEC, a UK-headquartered technology company, has developed a proprietary technology for decomposing old tyres through pyrolysis, (a process that transforms waste into valuable circular materials through thermal decomposition in an oxygen-free environment), and for upgrading the products to high-quality recycled chemicals and renewable fuels.
With the funding raised, CIRCTEC will construct Europe’s largest end-of-life tyre pyrolysis recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. At full capacity, the Delfzijl plant will be able to tackle approximately 5% of the 3.6 million tons of end-of-life tyres that are generated in Europe annually.
CIRCTEC’s technology offers a scalable solution to the global tyre waste problem by embracing circularity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the new Delfzijl plant set to be capable of reducing emissions by the equivalent of circa 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire chemical industry sector of The Netherlands.
In its pyrolysis process, CIRCTEC produces (i) its proprietary sustainable marine fuel HUPATM, (ii) circular naphtha for responsibly-sourced plastics, polymers and chemicals, and (iii) high-quality recovered carbon black for use back into tyres, rubber and plastics manufacturing.
CIRCTEC previously announced long-term offtake agreements with BP for its sustainable marine fuel and circular naphtha products, and with one of the largest global producers of carbon black, Birla Carbon, for the recovered carbon black. This means the entire output of the new plant being constructed at Delfzijl is fully sold.
“We are very pleased to welcome Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding to our board to continue our growth journey together. The success of this new investment round gives us the partners that will enable us to take CIRCTEC to the next level in realising our goal of scaling sustainability. Bringing our technology to a global scale will generate meaningful contributions to the sustainability of the planet.”
“CIRCTEC is the global leader in end-of-life tyre pyrolysis, and thanks to its unmatched proprietary technology, the Company is on a rapid growth trajectory that will now be further accelerated. In addition to having a strong technology platform, the team shares Novo Holdings’ firm belief in circularity as a key component in advancing planetary health by enabling the green transition of society. I look forward to the collaboration with the CIRCTEC leadership as well as the highly esteemed investor group.”
“The overall green transition of our societies will require trillions of dollars to be invested in the coming years and decades. Capital at this scale can only be activated if investor returns are commensurate for the risks taken. At A.P. Moller Holding, we are committed to investing in and building businesses with a positive impact on society. We believe CIRCTEC satisfies both our purpose and return requirements, and we are excited to be investing in the business and partnering with the management team to build a world-class pyrolysis platform.”
“The funding raised enables CIRCTEC to start realisation of the new plant in Delfzijl, which will bring a solution that produces circular chemical products from tyre waste. As NFIA, we welcome and applaud these types of smart, sustainable solutions for the future that strengthen the Dutch circular economy. The CIRCTEC plans also signify an important long-term commitment to the local region of Delfzijl and Chemport in bringing valuable jobs and innovative opportunities. I am happy that the Dutch government and Groningen province were able to support CIRCTEC in bringing this new solution to fruition.”
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