French energy and chemicals company Total has signed a deal with PureCycle Technologies to develop a strategic partnership in plastic recycling.

Under the agreement, Total has committed to purchase part of the PP output from PureCycle Technologies’ proposed facility in the US, as well as assess the interest in developing another new plant in Europe.

PureCycle Technologies’ patented recycling process, developed and licensed by Procter & Gamble, separates color, odor and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like recycled PP. The company, which is managed by US venture capital firm Innventure, will start construction of its first plant in Lawrence County, Ohio this year, producing 48,000 t/y of recycled PP.

“This partnership is an important new milestone for Total as it strengthens the group’s position in chemical recycling,” said Valérie Goff, Total’s senior vice president, polymers. “This first partnership in the United States opens new perspectives for addressing the challenge of the circular economy and achieving our ambition of producing 30% recycled polymers by 2030.”

Total has become involved in both mechanical and chemical recycling of plastics. In February 2019, it bought Synova, a leading French producer of high-performance recycled PP for the automotive industry. Capacity is being doubled to 40,000 t/y by 2021.

Last December, the Paris-based group also joined forces with Citeo, Recycling Technologies, Nestlé and Mars to develop chemical recycling in France. The consortium will examine the technical and economic feasibility of recycling complex plastic waste, such as small, flexible and multilayered food-grade packaging, which is currently non-recyclable and either incinerated or sent to landfill.

PureCycle Technologies has also entered into several other partnerships. During 2019, it signed three separate deals; the first with industrial manufacturer Milliken & Co. and Nestlé; followed by one with leading beauty firm L’Oreal; and a third with AptarGroup, a US provider of packaging, dispensing and sealing products for a variety of markets.