Building the future of plastic recycling – Valmet’s industrial-scale pilot facility opens in 2027

The plastics recycling sector is facing challenging times. Many companies attempting to build pyrolysis plants have struggled to reach stable operation, and several recycling facilities have been taken offline. Uncertainty has slowed investments, even though the need for new plastics recycling capacity is widely acknowledged – thanks to The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) that sets targets for the continent’s circular economy ambitions.

Global trends in plastics recycling

According to Jaakko Martikainen, Europe is unlikely to have enough recycling capacity to meet the 2030 requirements.

“The gap is significant, and the timeline is short. The market is already behind schedule, yet many companies are waiting for regulatory clarity before committing to large scale projects,” he notes. 

The same hesitation can be seen worldwide. Industrial players are actively exploring solutions but remain cautious about major investments.

“In North America, several large chemical recycling plants have been built, but also many have been shut down. In China, a few very large facilities are operating, but market drivers are less defined. Japan has announced ambitious targets, and Brazil and India are gradually awaking,” Martikainen adds.

Showcasing Valmet’s pyrolysis technology

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical conversion process where feedstock is decomposed into gases, liquids, and solid residues in the absence of oxygen. Through pyrolysis, plastic waste is converted into raw material for new high-quality recycled plastic suitable even for sensitive uses like food packaging. 

Valmet’s fluidized bed based fast pyrolysis technology builds on more than two decades of development and industrial experience. Its robustness, scalability, and high yields position it as a leading solution for the rapidly expanding chemical recycling market.

“Our new pilot facility brings this concept to industrial scale, providing a flexible, easy to operate test environment for rapid experimentation and technology development. Designed to evaluate different feedstocks, process conditions, and new technologies, the plant supports reliable scaling toward commercial size operations,” says Pekko Marjomaa, Product Sales Manager at Valmet. “We are also able to produce representative product batches for our customers to understand how process chemistry, process parameters, different feedstocks and additives affect process and product quality,” he continues.

In addition to helping companies meet mandatory recycled content targets for plastic packaging, chemical recycling offers waste to energy plants a promising way to cut fossil carbon dioxide emissions included in the Emission Trading System (ETS). Many of these plants also face extensive maintenance challenges caused by high heating value of mixed waste. By sorting plastics out and converting them into valuable, recycled feedstock, operators can reduce strain on boilers while improving overall resource efficiency – a solution that checks multiple boxes for both sustainability and operational reliability.

The construction of the new pyrolysis pilot facility is planned to begin in early 2027, and it is estimated to be commissioned and ready for initial test runs in summer 2027.

Text: Marianne Valta