OMV and Borealis sign long-term supply agreements with TOMRA for recycling feedstock produced from mixed waste
26.04.2024OMV and Borealis have entered into long-term feedstock supply agreements for their recycling facilities with TOMRA Feedstock, a subsidiary of leading sorting technology producer TOMRA. These agreements ensure a consistent supply of sustainable and high-quality raw materials for OMV Group’s recycling operations. OMV will process feedstock supplied from TOMRA Feedstock plants in its ReOil® plants in Austria, while Borealis will process feedstock produced by TOMRA at its mechanical recycling operations in Europe. The feedstock will be produced from mixed post-consumer plastic material otherwise lost to landfill and incineration at a first-of-its-kind sorting facility currently being developed by TOMRA in Germany. By contributing to the OMV Group’s strategic targets of producing circular products and solutions, these agreements play a crucial role in closing the loop in plastics to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
Mixed post consumer plastic materials
© TOMRA
TOMRA is one of the global leaders in sensor-based sorting systems for metal and waste recycling and is currently building a sorting plant in Germany that will have an input capacity of 80 000 metric t/a and be operational at the end of 2025. TOMRA Feedstock has pioneered an innovative process that transforms pre-sorted mixed post-consumer plastic waste – materials that would otherwise end up in incineration – sorted into clean fractions of specific polymer types. These fractions can then be further processed in mechanical and chemical recycling plants such as those run by OMV and Borealis.
OMV has signed a long-term contract for the supply by TOMRA Feedstock of chemical recycling feedstock. This feedstock will be used for OMV’s self-developed and patented ReOil® technology for chemical recycling – thereby replacing virgin polyolefins. This will make a significant contribution to meeting recycling targets.
Daniela Vlad, OMV Executive Vice President Chemicals & Materials: “This long-term supply agreement will provide feedstock for our ReOil® technology, which in turn will transform it into high-quality sustainable raw materials for plastics production. In this way, we are making a significant contribution to the creation of a circular economy for plastics.”
From left to right: Anna Platzer, Head of Circular Feedstock, OMV; Daniela Vlad, OMV Executive Vice President Chemicals & Materials; Tove Andersen, President and CEO of TOMRA; Dr Volker Rehrmann, EVP and Head of TOMRA Recycling; and Maximilian Grasserbauer, SVP Circular Economy, OMV
© TOMRA
Borealis will be using the feedstock at its operations based on Borealis’ Borcycle™ M technology, which transforms polyolefin-based post-consumer waste into high-performance polymers suitable for demanding applications in industries including automotive, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, appliances and consumer products.
Craig Arnold, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology: “This agreement is another tangible step forward on Borealis’ commitment to increasing the share of recycled content across a wide range of high-performance products. Our customers will be able to expand on the use of value-added, recycled plastics within their portfolios.”
Volker Rehrmann, Executive Vice President and Head of TOMRA Recycling: “This agreement shows what’s possible when key players in the value chain come together to make a truly significant impact in the market. With our technology, we have the ability to recover post-consumer plastics that would have otherwise been lost to incineration. This is valuable material that should be given at least a second life. We look forward to working with OMV and Borealis in making a big contribution toward closing the circularity gap for plastics.”
OMV operates a ReOil® pilot plant in Schwechat, Austria, and a new ReOil® plant with a capacity of 16 000 metric t/a is currently under construction at the same site. Like the existing pilot plant, the new plant will have International Sustainability and Carbon certification (ISCC PLUS).
