BASF has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China’s Zhejiang REEF Technology to develop state-of-the-art recyclate formulations for applications in the automotive, packaging, and consumer industries. Under the agreement, BASF will provide its recently launched IrgaCycle additives along with technical consultancy and support for recycled polymer formulations conducted at BASF’s test facilities. REEF Technology will apply IrgaCycle additives to recycled plastics fractions heavily contaminated with paint, ink, or adhesive residue, such as automotive bumpers.

“Our goal is to help deliver higher quality, safer, and more effective products while supporting the plastic circular economy and helping reduce the use of virgin plastic material,” said Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals Asia Pacific. “In this way, we support our customers and partners to achieve their sustainability targets and create sustainable innovations together.”

“We wanted to partner with a world-class manufacturer of plastic additives like BASF to improve the quality of our recyclates,” said Shirley Wu, General Manager, REEF. “With its in-depth expertise in plastic additives, BASF supports us in this core area by improving the processing and long-term stability of highly contaminated recycled plastic fractions.”

IrgaCycle additive solutions help to increase the percentage of mechanically recycled content in several end-use applications such as packaging, automotive and mobility, and building and construction. These solutions address specific quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability, and insufficient protection from outdoor weathering, said BASF.

Zhejiang REEF Technology Co. Ltd. is a subsidiary of Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., a joint venture company of the French Veolia Group in China. It focuses on the R&D and production of high-end engineering plastic modified materials. REEF’s core products include recycled polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, ABS, and polyamide.