(Boursier.com) — Michelin partners with Antin and Enviro to announce the construction of the first end-of-life tire recycling plant in Sweden. Antin and Enviro established a joint venture in March 2023 to build a series of factories in Europe. Antin is the majority shareholder of the joint venture, Michelin a minority shareholder and Enviro has an option to become a significant minority shareholder.
The first factory, located in Uddevalla in Sweden, has obtained all the necessary environmental and construction permits and authorizations. Construction has already started and the plant is expected to be operational in 2025.
With an initial target of processing around 35,000 tonnes of end-of-life tires per year, the factory is expected to create up to 50 jobs locally in its first phase.
Multi-year supply contracts
In addition to obtaining financing for the construction of the industrial unit, the joint venture signed a series of multi-year contracts for the supply of end-of-life tires as well as carbon black and pyrolysis oil from recycling.
In this context, Michelin is continuing its approach of proactively supporting the development of end-of-life tire recycling ecosystems and is committed to collaborating on the future developments of this joint venture. For example, Michelin signed a multi-year agreement to supply carbon black and pyrolysis oil.
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One million tons
As previously announced, the joint venture plans to build factories across Europe, aiming for a total annual recycling capacity of one million tonnes of end-of-life tires. Once the Uddevalla plant is operational, the joint venture will undertake the construction of additional plants in other European countries to ensure rapid deployment of this technology. Antin and Enviro have already agreed on a financing plan for the construction of these factories.
The volume of tires reaching the end of their life cycle and then discarded has continued to increase, reaching today 3.5 million tonnes per year in Europe alone.
This joint venture was created to develop the recycling of used tires in Europe, by producing sustainable raw materials. Chief among these materials produced are recovered carbon black and oils. They can then be reused in tire manufacturing and the petrochemical industry. By replacing virgin carbon black with the recycled material produced by the joint venture, it is possible to reduce emissions resulting from the use of conventional carbon black by more than 90%.
“Michelin strongly supported the creation of this joint venture between Enviro and Antin. The adventure began in 2020 with the entry of Michelin into the capital of Enviro to support the maturation of this technology. The joint venture created with our partners Enviro and Antin have today reached a new milestone with the finalization of this joint investment aimed at building this first factory in Sweden. The start of this ambitious industrial program, which is intended to be developed on a European scale, is perfectly in line in line with the strategic objectives of the Michelin group to achieve 100% renewable and recycled materials by 2050, by reducing the overall environmental impact of its tires” commented Maude Portigliatti, High-tech materials business director – Member of the executive committee of the Michelin group.
“Antin is delighted to join Enviro and Michelin in announcing the construction of the first of many factories planned by the joint venture. We are excited to contribute to the creation of a fully circular platform that will recycle tires at the end of life in sustainably usable raw materials. It is part of Antin NextGen’s strategy to focus on proven technologies that require substantial capital to be deployed on an industrial scale”, adds Anand Jagannathan, Senior Partner at Antin.
“The Uddevalla plant will be the joint venture’s first large-scale tire recycling plant and an important first joint step towards creating the world’s first large-scale tire recycling group. Together we play a crucial role in the industrial transformation needed for a more sustainable future,” said Alf Blomqvist, President of Scandinavian Enviro Systems.