Breakthrough in PET Chemical Recycling by Oerlikon Barmag & Evonik

Recycled plastic Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik announce strategic partnership for chemically recycled PET

2025-01-28 Source: Oerlikon Barmag 2 min Reading Time

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Evonik Industries AG

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Tackling the growing challenge of PET waste, Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik have teamed up to pioneer a breakthrough in chemical recycling. With advanced depolymerisation and repolymerisation processes, this partnership promises to transform PET recycling into a scalable, sustainable solution for the global plastics industry.

Jochen Adler, CTO, and Georg Stausberg, CEO, both Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions, Dr. Max Preisenberger, Head of Catalysts at Evonik, Lukas Adamek, Head of Strategy & Business Development Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions, and Dr. Gerd Löhden, SVP R&D Smart Materials Evonik at the official founding of the new partnership between Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik(Source: Oerlikon Barmag) — Jochen Adler, CTO, and Georg Stausberg, CEO, both Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions, Dr. Max Preisenberger, Head of Catalysts at Evonik, Lukas Adamek, Head of Strategy & Business Development Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions, and Dr. Gerd Löhden, SVP R&D Smart Materials Evonik at the official founding of the new partnership between Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik
(Source: Oerlikon Barmag)

Oerlikon Barmag and Evonik have announced their cooperation to promote chemical recycling of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste. Both companies develop technologies for depolymerisation and purification processes, coupled with an integrated concept for repolymerisation and the associated EPC business models.

The Remscheid-based machine and plant manufacturer Oerlikon Barmag contributes its expertise in polymer processing for the production of chemical fibers and packaging materials to the new partnership. In addition, as a core brand of Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions of the Swiss Oerlikon Group, the company has excellent international market access in the polymer processing industry.

Evonik is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of specialty chemicals. The partnership with Oerlikon Barmag aims to advance technology and process solutions for the chemical recycling of PET, leveraging innovative catalytic processes.

The partners plan to fully launch and commercialize the jointly developed chemical recycling technology solution by the end of the current decade. The intensive involvement and active participation of other companies within the ecosystem (including feedstock, technology and production) and the establishment of a global development partner network are planned.

“We are firmly convinced that with Evonik we gained a strong and experienced partner in the field of specialty chemicals, and together we will establish a significant market position as a total solution provider in the growth market for chemical recycling of PET, but also drive the next generation of sustainability within the plastics industry,” says Georg Stausberg, CEO of Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions.

The PET recycling technology can be seamlessly integrated into existing PET production processes. Operational costs, investment cost and scalability are the key drivers in the development. The combination of cooperational know-how in catalyst and process technologies will allow a chemical recycling of polyester materials from many closed- and open-loop sources, which need chemical technology to allow for high, fossil-like recyclate qualities.

“The strong and complementing technological know-how and expertise of both companies in combination with Oerlikon Barmag’s market access and PET processing knowhow, establishes a competitive and unique partnership within the emerging chemical PET recycling industry. With the goal of creating a circular economy for all types of PET waste that is currently incinerated or landfilled, we want to scale our technology to a significant size and make it available to global PET producers and processors. In this way we will enable our customers to become more sustainable and contribute to a circular economy,” explains Lukas Adamek, Head of Strategy & Business Development of Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Solutions.

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