UK recycling start-up Circtec has secured fundng of EUR150 million to construct, what is said to be, Europe’s largest end-of-life tyre (ELT) pyrolysis recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.
The funds include a EUR75 million equity investment led by Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding and EUR22.5 million of grants awarded by the government of the Netherlands.
Discarded tyres pose significant environmental and health risks, accumulating in landfills, and polluting ecosystems with toxic substances.
Circtec says it has developed a proprietary technology for decomposing old tyres through pyrolysis (a process that transforms waste into valuable circular materials through thermal decomposition in an oxygen-free environment), and for upgrading the products to high-quality recycled chemicals and renewable fuels.
At full capacity, the Delfzijl plant will be able to recycle roughly 5% of the 3.6 million tonnes of end-of-life tyres that are generated in Europe a year.
Allen Timpany, Co-founder/CEO of Circtec, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Novo Holdings and A.P. Moller Holding to our board to continue our growth journey together. The success of this new investment round gives us the partners that will enable us to take Circtec to the next level in realising our goal of scaling sustainability. Bringing our technology to a global scale will generate meaningful contributions to the sustainability of the planet.”