Neste boosts plastic recycling activities in 2023

Finland-based energy company Neste Oyj has now processed more than 6,000 tons of liquefied plastic scrap at a refinery in Porvoo, Finland, as part of that facility’s “gradual transformation [into] a leading renewable and circular solutions refining hub.”

In Porvoo, liquefied plastic scrap is refined into high-quality raw materials for new plastics.

Neste concluded another series of industrial-scale processing runs in 2023 with increasing volumes of liquefied scrap plastic in Porvoo.

The processing runs in the second half of 2023 doubled the total amount of liquefied waste plastic processed by Neste to more than 6,000 tons. “For the first time the largest run in 2023 exceeded 2,000 tons of liquefied [scrap] plastic,” the refiner says.

Neste describes the output from the process as “high-quality, ISCC [International Sustainability and Carbon Certificate] Plus-certified material for new plastics.”

“There is an urgent need to develop solutions to curb climate emissions, while simultaneously tackling the global plastic waste challenge,” says Heikki Färkkilä, vice president of chemical recycling at Neste. “We are processing increasing volumes of waste plastic, which is testament to our commitment to scale up chemical recycling.”

Färkkilä also credits collaborators in the process, saying, “At the same time, these volumes also demonstrate the commitment of our partners, suppliers and the industry as a whole: We are confident we will see chemical recycling become a commercial-scale contributor to the circularity of plastics in the upcoming years.”

The active 2023 “paves the way for reaching capability to start continuous commercial processing,” according to Neste. A new facility is being constructed in Porvoo to enable the upgrading of 150,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic each year.

This first phase of Neste’s EU Innovation Fund-backed PULSE project, which has Neste investing some $120 million, is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025. In total, PULSE is aiming for an annual capacity to chemically recycle 400,000 tons of discarded plastic.

Neste says it is securing liquified plastic scrap from various suppliers. “Besides contributing to the overall development of chemical recycling, processing liquefied waste plastic is helping Neste take steps towards developing its Porvoo refinery into a renewable and circular solutions site,” the firm says.