BioBTX secures €20.8 million in EU funding for chemical recycling plant

Dutch company BioBTX has secured €20.8 million in funding from the EU Innovation Fund for its planned “Petra” chemical recycling facility at the Delfzijl chemical park in the Netherlands (see also plasticker-news dated August 14, 2026). The company announced that it has signed a grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The funding was awarded under the “IF24 Net-Zero Technologies” programme for medium-scale projects.

The facility is designed to process around 20,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste annually, focusing on materials unsuitable for mechanical recycling. It is expected to produce approximately 10,000 tonnes of aromatic-rich oil per year. The oil will contain benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX), among other compounds, which can serve as chemical feedstocks for the production of plastics, coatings and other chemical products.

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The plant will employ BioBTX’s proprietary Integrated Catalytic Cracking Process (ICCP). The technology involves thermally decomposing plastic waste in the absence of oxygen, followed by catalytic conversion of the resulting vapours into aromatic compounds.

According to BioBTX, calculations based on the EU Innovation Fund methodology indicate that the Petra facility could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 72% compared with conventional fossil-based aromatics production combined with the incineration of the plastic waste used as feedstock. Over its first ten years of operation, the plant is projected to avoid more than 517,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

BioBTX reached a final investment decision on the project in July 2026, with commissioning currently scheduled for 2028. The Delfzijl facility is expected to create around 35 direct jobs.

More information: biobtx.com, www.covestro.com

BioBTX, Groningen, Netherlands