French energy giant Total and chemical recycling company Plastic Energy have entered into a strategic partnership and will develop the first chemical recycling project in France. With a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year, the plant will be located on the new Total platform zero crude in Grandpuits, France. The project is expected to become operational in early 2023.

The project in France represents the start of a collaboration between Total and Plastic Energy, which is headquartered in London, to chemically process difficult-to-recycle plastic waste that otherwise would have been incinerated.

Valerie Goff, Senior Vice President, Polymers, in Total’s Refining and Chemicals business segment, said, “This strategic partnership combined with the construction of the first chemical recycling plant in France is an important step in the development of the chemical recycling of plastic waste. It will contribute to achieve our goal of producing 30% of polymers from recycled materials by 2030.”

Carlos Monreal, founder and CEO of Plastic Energy, added, “The collaboration with Total will help contribute to the emergence of an innovative new industrial sector for recycling, meeting both the rising demand for high-quality recycled materials and the need for real circularity in plastics.”

Additionally, Total has signed an agreement with Plastic Energy to purchase part of the pyrolysis oils (or TACOIL) produced at Plastic Energy plants in Spain. TACOIL has already been successfully processed in Total’s petrochemical platform in Antwerp. The properties of the polymers produced will be identical to that of virgin polymers and will be suitable for food-contact applications.

Last month, Total announced a partnership with Corbion to build a new PLA bioplastics plant in Europe. The first world-scale PLA production facility in Europe is expected to have a capacity of 100,000 tons per year.