#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-10-21

Plastic Energy announces final investment decision and start of construction works for advanced recycling plant in France

Plastic Energy has today announced the final investment decision and start of construction for its advanced recycling plant in northern France. The large-scale recycling plant will have a capacity of 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste per annum, with plans to scale-up to 33,000 tonnes in the near future, and will be adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Notre Dame de Gravenchon petrochemical complex.

FID for advanced recycling project near Le Havre, France, has been reached after announcement of initial collaboration agreement with ExxonMobil in March 2021

Civil works have begun on the large-scale 25,000 tonne/annum recycling plant for end-of-life plastics, with start-up anticipated for 2023

Plans were finalised after the project was awarded the necessary environmental permits to begin construction in July

The announcement of the FID and start of civil works comes after the granting of environmental permits for the project in July of 2021. These permits ensure that the Plastic Energy plant will abide by all European environmental regulations from construction to continuous operation.

Earlier this year, Plastic Energy signed an offtake collaboration agreement with ExxonMobil. As per the agreement, TACOIL (or recycled oils) from this Plastic Energy plant will be used by ExxonMobil to create virgin-quality certified circular polymers and other high-value products. Start-up of the advanced recycling plant is anticipated in 2023.

Plastic Energy is a global leader in advanced recycling, specialising in recycling end-of-life plastics that would otherwise be destined for landfill, incineration or end up in the environment. The company’s patented, innovative technology transforms plastic waste into raw materials that can be used as a substitute for fossil oils in the manufacturing of virgin- quality food-grade packaging.

“We are excited to announce that construction is going ahead for our large-scale advanced recycling plant in France, which will recycle mixed post-consumer plastic waste,” said Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of Plastic Energy. “Through our collaboration with ExxonMobil, we are working towards making plastics more sustainable for the future.”

“ExxonMobil is investing in projects around the world that help society address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment,” said Loic Vivier, senior vice president of Performance Derivatives, ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “With the addition of well- designed policies and collaboration across industries, the advanced recycling opportunities we are evaluating and executing have the potential for large-scale, game-changing improvements to the circularity of plastic products.”

The construction of this plant will benefit the circular economy in France by diverting plastic waste from linear treatments, and reducing both plastic waste in the environment, and the depletion of natural resources.

This project has received financial support from the French government as part of their Plan de Relance and Regional Planning Grant Scheme.

Texprocess 2026: Automation, digitalisation and AI redefine textile processing

Making investment decisions in textile processing has become significantly more demanding. Increasing energy costs, a shortage of skilled labour and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties are compelling companies to focus on technologies that deliver clear gains in efficiency and process reliability. This applies equally to apparel manufacturing and to the processing of technical textiles and high-performance materials. As a result, modernisation initiatives are assessed more carefully – even as the need to upgrade production systems continues to intensify.

Techtextil 2026: Between innovation pressure & market reality

From 21 to 24 April 2026, Techtextil in Frankfurt am Main will once again become the central meeting point for the international technical textiles and nonwovens industry. Running in parallel, Texprocess will focus on the industrial implementation of textile processing technologies as the leading platform in this field. Together, the two trade fairs form a closely integrated presentation and working platform along the entire textile value chain – from material development to finished applications.

Between geopolitical pressure and industrial resilience

In this interview, Dr. Janpeter Horn (VDMA) discusses the current challenges facing textile machinery manufacturers, shaped by geopolitical tensions, regulatory developments and subdued investment. He also outlines why innovation strength, integrated solutions and strategic positioning remain key to global competitiveness.

Circulose and CTA announce collaboration to enable lyocell fibers using CIRCULOSE® pulp

Circulose has announced an agreement with China Textile Academy Green Fibre (CTA) to offer lyocell fibers produced using CIRCULOSE® pulp. Producing lyocell from recycled pulp at commercial scale is an important step in making textile-to-textile recycled materials available across a wider range of textile applications.

Solving the Feedstock Gap: Unlocking Post-consumer Feedstocks for Textile-to-Textile Recycling in Europe

Fashion for Good launches Project FAE (Feedstock Activation Europe) to develop the sorting and pre-processing infrastructure needed to channel non-rewearable post-consumer textiles into textile-to-textile (T2T) recycling at scale. The project is a practical response to one of the most pressing problems in textile circularity: making post-consumer waste a viable, commercially competitive raw material for recyclers.

BASF at Techtextil 2026: Helping to shape the future of the textile industry with tangible solutions

At the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens from April 21 to 24, 2026 at the Messe Frankfurt, BASF will present numerous solutions and new projects in the textile sector to customers and partners at booth B 68 in hall 11.0. The focus is on product innovations and future-oriented technologies.

BTMA backs global growth while investing in future UK leaders

As one of a number of new initiatives launched this year, the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA) is launching the UK-India Textile Machinery Coalition. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement, signed in July 2025, has implications that extend across sourcing, competitiveness and long-term trade dynamics, believes BTMA CEO Jason Kent.

China projected to increase cotton production, yields, and imports in 2026/27

World cotton production in the 2026/27 season is projected at 25.9 million tonnes, exceeding global consumption of 25.2 million tonnes, according to the May 2026 issue of Cotton This Month. That means both production and consumption are expected to remain close to current season levels, while global cotton trade is projected to decline by 2.7% to approximately 9.6-9.7 million tonnes.