Neste, Alterra, Technip Energies Team Up to Accelerate Chemical Recycling with Modular Plant Design

Neste, Alterra, and Technip Energies have announced a strategic partnership to develop a standardized technology solution for chemical recycling, designed to accelerate the transition to a circular plastics economy. The collaboration will be based on Alterra’s proprietary liquefaction technology, a thermochemical process that turns hard-to-recycle plastics into high-quality raw materials for new plastics and chemicals.

Under the agreement, Alterra and Neste will provide the core recycling technology, while Technip Energies will handle the design, engineering, and construction of modular plant solutions. The standardized, modular approach aims to reduce pre-investment costs, speed up implementation timelines, and enhance the predictability of project economics, making it easier for companies to deploy chemical recycling capacity on a global scale.

The modular design is the cornerstone of the collaboration, offering ready-made liquefaction plant modules that are pre-engineered and designed for faster deployment. These modules are expected to significantly reduce both capital and operational costs, offering a plug-and-play solution for companies interested in expanding chemical recycling infrastructure. This “copy-paste” approach, as the companies describe it, will allow for faster scale-ups and increase the number of recycling facilities that can be implemented worldwide, helping meet the growing demand for sustainable waste management solutions.

Alterra’s thermochemical liquefaction technology has been developed and refined over 15 years of research and industrial-scale trials. The process converts hard-to-recycle plastics into a liquid hydrocarbon product, which can then be further refined into usable raw materials. This includes materials that can be used to produce virgin-quality plastics, chemicals, and other industrial products, ultimately helping close the loop in the plastic lifecycle.

According to Frederic Schmuck, CEO of Alterra Energy, the goal is to eliminate the traditional hurdles that have slowed chemical recycling adoption. "We are enabling a copy-paste solution for liquefaction plants, reducing the barriers for companies looking to scale up recycling capacity globally," Schmuck said.

Neste, a global leader in renewable products, has already demonstrated the potential of the liquefaction process by processing more than 6,000 tons of plastic-derived feedstock, including ISCC Plus certified oil sourced from Alterra’s industrial-scale facility in Akron, Ohio. Andreas Teir, head of chemical recycling at Neste, emphasized the company's commitment to meeting increasing demand for sustainable recycling solutions. “We are ready to serve this demand, and we look forward to offering robust, easy-to-deploy liquefaction technology that contributes to reducing plastic waste,” Teir said.

The collaboration comes at a time when the demand for sustainable waste solutions, particularly in the plastics sector, is growing rapidly. As companies face increasing pressure to meet their 2030 climate targets, there is a clear push for chemical recycling technologies that can process plastics that are otherwise difficult to recycle through traditional methods. Bhaskar Patel, Senior Vice President for Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals & Circularity at Technip Energies, noted the growing need for low-cost, scalable technologies that provide a reliable path to achieving circularity. “This solution is poised to meet that demand and contribute to meeting climate commitments globally," Patel said.

The partnership builds on previous collaborations between Alterra, Neste, and Technip Energies. Alterra and Neste first joined forces in 2021 to improve and scale Alterra’s chemical recycling technology. In 2022, Alterra and Technip Energies began working together to further develop and commercialize chemical recycling solutions.

With the demand for liquefied waste plastic growing, the partners are optimistic about the potential impact of this collaboration. The standardized, modular approach promises to significantly reduce the time and costs associated with building chemical recycling plants, enabling faster growth in recycling capacity worldwide. By advancing the chemical recycling ecosystem, Neste, Alterra, and Technip Energies hope to play a major role in reducing global plastic waste, supporting the transition to a circular economy, and meeting the world’s growing demand for sustainable materials.

As regulatory pressures and consumer demand for sustainable products continue to rise, this collaboration is poised to make a significant contribution to the global effort to reduce plastic pollution and improve the overall efficiency of recycling systems.