Nexus Circular and Braskem S.A., the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, as well as a market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, today announced that they have signed a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to secure the production output from a new advanced recycling facility planned near Chicago, IL. The new facility will have an initial capacity to convert over 30,000 metric tons annually of used plastic into new materials, with the potential to rapidly expand the processing capacity to over 120,000 metric tons annually.
Nexus Circular is a commercial leader in advanced recycling that uses proprietary technology and a leading process design to convert landfill-bound films and other hard-to-recycle plastics into high-quality materials used to produce virgin-quality sustainable plastics. Since 2018, Nexus has been supplying consistent, on-spec commercial volumes of ISCC PLUS certified circular products. In January 2022, Braskem made a strategic investment in Nexus Circular.
By the terms of the MOU, Braskem gains exclusive rights to the production output from this new advanced recycling facility, which supports Braskem’s strategic objective to sell 300 thousand metric tons of products with recycled content by 2025 and 1 million metric tons by 2030.
Braskem America’s CEO Mark Nikolich said, “With the new facility, we will leverage Nexus’ proven, commercial advanced recycling technology to secure high-quality feedstock for the production of Braskem’s certified circular PP resins. Braskem has dedicated substantial resources towards reducing plastic waste and is making significant progress towards a more sustainable portfolio of PP to support our clients’ goals.”
Eric Hartz, Nexus Circular’s Co-founder, and President added, “Nexus is rapidly expanding our production footprint, beyond our current commercial plant, with leading companies. We are thrilled to have Braskem as a committed partner, in addition to being an investor, as we move decisively to address the outsized market demand for circular recycled products while helping to mitigate the plastic waste challenge.”
Nexus’ unique solution is end-to-end acquiring and converting used plastics into circular virgin-equivalent feedstock for meeting recycled plastics objectives. The Nexus process is energy efficient, delivers unprecedented product quality, and has diverted over 5.5 million lbs. of used plastics from landfills to date.
About Nexus
Nexus Circular is an advanced recycling company at the center of the circular economy. We accelerate plastic recycling so that people, economies and the environment can thrive. We have a viable solution today that is circular, efficient and economical at full commercial scale. Through our end-to-end solution, we work with recycling organizations to capture used plastics, especially hard-to-recycle films, from landfill, having already diverted millions of pounds to date. By leveraging technology that outperforms, operations that scale and people that deliver, our proprietary technology and leading process design converts used plastics into clean high-quality, ISCC Plus certified materials for global companies who use them to produce virgin-quality circular plastics. We are on a trajectory to convert 1 billion+ lbs. annually of hard-to-recycle plastics into circular materials to support our global partners’ 2025 sustainability commitments.
About Braskem
With a global vision of the future, oriented toward people and sustainability, Braskem is committed to contributing to the value chain for strengthening the circular economy. The petrochemical company’s almost 8,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improving people’s lives through sustainable chemicals and plastics solutions. Braskem has an innovative DNA and a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse segments, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, healthcare, and hygiene, among others. With 41 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem exports its products to clients in more than 71 countries.
Braskem America, Inc. is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and operations in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials.
Source
Braskem, press release, 2022-07-11.
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