Partnership drives innovation in chemical recycling

German chemical giant BASF has partnered with Norwegian energy company Quantafuel to develop products from chemically recycled plastic waste. Backed by a €20m (£17.7m) investment from BASF, Quantafuel is to start a pyrolysis and purification plant in Skive, Denmark, later this year. The plant will have a capacity of 15,000 tonnes a year. Purified hydrocarbons produced by the plant will be used as feedstock for the chemical industry, and BASF will have the first refusal on new products for four years. Quantafuel plans to licence jointly developed technologies to other parties. BASF will use the secondary raw materials for its ChemCycling project, which transforms chemically recycled plastics into new products, including food packaging, which requires high quality and hygiene standards. Hartwig Michels, president of petrochemicals at BASF, said: The investment underlines our commitment towards a sustainable use of resources and the development of a circular economy model.