Borealis and OMV partner with Tomra for plastic feedstock supplies in Austria

29 Apr 2024 --- Austria-based chemical recyclers Borealis and OMV Group have entered into long-term feedstock supply agreements for their recycling facilities with Tomra Feedstock, a subsidiary of waste sorting technology producer Tomra. The agreements aim to ensure consistent raw materials supply for OMV’s recycling operations.

OMV will process feedstock supplied from Tomra Feedstock in its ReOil plants in Austria, and Borealis will process feedstock produced by Tomra at its mechanical recycling operations in Europe. 

The feedstock will be produced from mixed post-consumer plastic material otherwise lost to landfill and incineration at a “first-of-its-kind” sorting facility currently being developed by Tomra in Germany. 

By contributing to the OMV Group’s strategic targets of producing circular products and solutions, these agreements play a “crucial role” in closing the plastics loop to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, says OMV.

Daniela Vlad, executive vice president for Chemicals & Materials at OMV, says: “This long-term supply agreement will provide feedstock for our ReOil technology, which in turn will transform it into high-quality, sustainable raw materials for plastics production. In this way, we are making a significant contribution to the creation of a circular economy for plastics.”

From left to right: Anna Platzer, head of Circular Feedstock, OMV; Daniela Vlad, OMV EVP for Chemicals & Materials; Tove Andersen, Tomra’s president and CEO; Volker Rehrmann, EVP and head of TOMRA Recycling; and Maximilian Grasserbauer, SVP for Circular Economy OMV.Closing the plastic loop 
Tomra is a global player in sensor-based sorting systems for metal and waste recycling and is currently building a sorting plant in Germany with an input capacity of 80,000 metric tons annually. Tomra aims for the plant to be operational at the end of 2025. 

Tomra Feedstock has pioneered an innovative process that transforms pre-sorted mixed post-consumer plastic waste — materials that would otherwise end up in incineration — into clean fractions of specific polymer types. These fractions can then be further processed in mechanical and chemical recycling plants such as those run by OMV and Borealis.

OMV has signed a long-term contract for the supply by Tomra Feedstock of chemical recycling feedstock. The feedstock will be used for OMV’s self-developed and patented ReOil technology for chemical recycling — replacing virgin polyolefins. 

Borealis will use the feedstock at its operations based on Borealis’ Borcycle M technology, which transforms polyolefin-based post-consumer waste into high-performance polymers suitable for demanding applications in industries including automotive, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, appliances and consumer products. 

Craig Arnold, Borealis’ executive vice president for Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology says: “This agreement is another tangible step forward on Borealis’ commitment to increasing the share of recycled content across a wide range of high-performance products. Our customers will be able to expand on the use of value-added, recycled plastics within their portfolios.” 

Volker Rehrmann, executive vice president and head of Tomra Recycling, adds: “This agreement shows what’s possible when key players in the value chain come together to make a truly significant impact in the market. With our technology, we have the ability to recover post-consumer plastics that would have otherwise been lost to incineration.” 

“This is valuable material that should be given at least a second life. We look forward to working with OMV and Borealis in making a big contribution toward closing the circularity gap for plastics.”

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim