Circular Economy Technology Provider Circtec Raises $163 Million to Build Large-Scale Tire Recycling Plant – ESG Today

Circular economy technology company Circtec announced today that it has raised €150 million (USD$163 million), with proceeds to be used for the construction of Europe’s largest end-of-life tire pyrolysis recycling facility in the Netherlands.

Founded in 2009, UK-based Circtec utilizes pyrolysis technology to recycle waste into renewable fuels and circular chemicals. The company’s solution decomposes old tires through pyrolysis, a process that transforms waste into circular materials through thermal decomposition in an oxygen-free environment, and upgrades the products into high-quality recycled chemicals and renewable fuels. From the recycled tires, Circtec produces a sustainable marine fuel, circular naptha for responsibly-sourced plastics, polymers and chemicals, and carbon black for use in new tires, rubber and plastics manufacturing.

According to Circtec, the company’s new plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, will be able to tackle approximately 5% of the 3.6 million tons of end-of-life tires generated annually in Europe, and will be capable of reducing the equivalent of about 3% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the entire chemical industry sector in the Netherlands.

Allen Timpany, Co-founder and CEO of Circtec, said:

“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.”

The fundraise included a €75 million equity investment led by Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding, in addition to  €22.5 million from grants awarded by the Government of the Netherlands.

Anders Spohr, Senior Partner, Bioindustrial Investments, Novo Holdings, said:

“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.”