LYB acquires solvent-based recycling company APK

LyondellBasell (LYB), Rotterdam, Netherlands, has become the full owner of APK AG, Merseburg, Germany, and plans to fully integrate the company as part of LYB, further developing its solvent-based recycling technology for low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

LYB plans to build commercial-scale plants that would enable it to produce new high-purity materials that can be used in applications like flexible packaging for personal care products.

The company first announced its plan to acquire APK in late August. It previously had invested in APK and collaborated with the company to bring its technology to scale. APK entered into insolvency in May, and LYB’s move secures the company’s future.

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"We are excited to complete the acquisition of solvent-based recycling technology company APK, securing the future of more than a hundred employees and adding another solution for our customers to meet their circularity ambitions and goals,” says Yvonne van der Laan, LYB executive vice president of circular and low carbon solutions. “This technology complements our excellent mechanical recycling technology, as well as our proprietary advanced recycling technology. We see this as a crucial addition to our portfolio on our journey to a circular economy, helping end plastic waste.”

Van der Laan has previously said that LYB’s goal is to produce and market at least 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030.

Earlier this year, LYB announced its first industrial-scale MoReTec plant in Wesseling, Germany, with German Chancellor Scholz in attendance. MoReTec is the company’s proprietary molecular, or chemical, recycling technology to convert pretreated postuse plastic into feedstock for new plastic production.

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“We are incredibly pleased to be part of LYB. LYB offers great expertise, career opportunities and financial strength to lift the company to the next level,” says Maik Pusch, former director of corporate development at APK AG and integration lead. “I am convinced this combination will help our technology reach its full potential, as well as securing a promising future for our employees.”

APK’s solvent-based recycling technology targets LDPE. The materials produced will be sold under LYB’s Circulen portfolio.

In March 2023, LYB introduced its new business strategy aimed at establishing the company as a sustainability leader, forming a dedicated circular and low-carbon solutions (CLCS) business. CLCS has started to make substantial investments upstream in postuse plastic sorting and recycling operations in Europe, the United States and Asia.