Our in-development Brightlands Demonstration Plant
Itero’s plastic recycling: the possibilities are endless
We are a chemical recycling technology company engineering solutions for a circular carbon economy. Our upcoming Demonstration Plant will process hard-to-recycle plastic waste into valuable circular chemical products used to create new plastics.
The goal of our project is to recycle plastic waste while showcasing our technology through further R&D.
This drawing represents design intent and concept only.
Brightlands Chemelot Campus Demonstration Plant
Our Demonstration Plant is the next iteration of our technology, currently operating at our West London Pilot Plant, and is an opportunity to showcase our process and its circular potential at a larger scale. Once operational, our plant will process 27kt per annum of waste plastics, which is five times the plastic waste collected by the city of Maastricht per year (3), while diverting over 20kt per annum of fossil resources, the equivalent of offsetting nearly 500 barrels per day of oils used to create plastics (4).
Our upcoming plant will create approximately 40 full-time jobs that support the transition from the petrochemical industry into a world-leading circular plastics hub, retaining expertise in the Limburg region. The integration of circular economy businesses into the Limburg area will attract further investment into the region.
CIRCULAR SOLUTIONS
In the Netherlands, 55% of plastic packaging is incinerated (1), with some residual flows lost to the environment, damaging ecosystems. Pyrolysis of mixed waste plastic can deliver a 44% reduction in global warming potential than conventional fossil-based systems, where plastic waste is incinerated (2). Our pyrolysis process simultaneously diverts plastic waste destined for incineration or landfill while offsetting the use of virgin fossil resources traditionally used to produce plastics.
1. Plastics, the Facts 2022 (Plastics Europe) 2. Life Cycle Assessment of Chemical Recycling for Food Grade Film, The Consumer Goods Forum
Just transition fund
Itero has been awarded €5m by the European Union’s Just Transition Fund (JTF) for our Brightlands Demonstration Plant
The JTF is designed to support a fair and equitable transition to a climate-neutral economy, enabling European regions that are dependent on fossil-based income and employment to transition to a low-carbon energy future, considering the social and economic impacts as well as the environmental.
Brightlands Chemelot campus
As it is critical to develop circular solutions for essential materials, the Brightlands Chemelot Circular Hub is emerging as a key space for circular innovation across all sectors. Working alongside and together, research, start-ups, and industry are collaborating on advancing necessary solutions for full circularity, making the Brightlands campus ideal for advancing our technology within a circular ecosystem. At the same time, its position in the Province of Limburg, at the heart of Western Europe, creates easy accessibility across the value chain from plastics to petrochemicals to waste management.
Image: Itero CEO Simon Hansford pictured with Astrid Boeijen, CEO Brightlands Chemelot Campus.
“We welcome the incredible support from the JTF in helping Itero pursue a low-carbon and circular economy. Working at Brightlands allows us to move our technology to its next phase with incredible talent, support, and opportunity for sustainable innovation. It’s critical that sustainable technology has the right enabling conditions to flourish, this is what Brightlands and the JTF grant are creating for us.”
— Simon Hansford, CEO, Itero