From Waste To Value: Borealis Helps Spark EU-Funded Project ELECTRO To Transform Hard-To-Recycle Plastics Into Valuable Resources
- Borealis is strengthening Europe’s circular plastics future as a key partner in Project ELECTRO, an EU-funded consortium uniting leading researchers and industry pioneers to unlock the next generation of electrified chemical recycling.
- With its expertise in chemical recycling and polyolefin innovation, Borealis helps convert mixed and hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-value olefins powered by renewable electricity, enabling circularity at industrial scale.
- By connecting ELECTRO with the Borealis-cofounded Project STOP, the consortium is testing breakthrough technologies with real-world waste streams, ensuring innovation delivers measurable impact for communities and the environment.
Borealis is a proud partner of Project ELECTRO, a cutting-edge EU-funded initiative driving Europe toward a climate-neutral, circular plastics system. The project brings together top universities such as the University of Ghent, research institutes, and industry players to develop electrified, high-efficiency recycling technologies capable of turning low-quality waste into premium raw materials.
Turning Low-Value Plastics into High-Value Building Blocks
Project ELECTRO aims to reshape the future of recycling by developing electrified thermochemical processes that transform mixed and hard-to-recycle waste — including multilayer packaging and contaminated plastics — into high-purity olefins such as ethylene and propylene.
By using renewable electricity instead of fossil-based energy, ELECTRO targets up to a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, matching the ambition of the EU’s circularity and decarbonization agenda.
Borealis Drives Key Advances in Circular Feedstocks
As a leading consortium partner, Borealis heads the work package focused on enabling circular feedstocks for efficient steam cracking. Key contributions include:
- Evaluating full-range pyrolysis oil (pyoil) and its fractions
- Optimizing circular hydrocarbon mixtures for large-scale cracking
- Developing cracking strategies tailored to diverse pyoil qualities
- Applying prefractionation, advanced filtration, and quality assessments to improve process performance
Linking Innovation to Real-World Waste Through Project STOP
Borealis also connects Project ELECTRO with Project STOP — its internationally recognized waste management initiative co-founded by Borealis and Systemiq in 2017. Household plastics collected in Indonesia through Project STOP are used in ELECTRO’s research, allowing the consortium to test the viability of chemical recycling on challenging, low-value waste streams.
“At Borealis, we’re committed to scaling circular solutions through innovation and strong partnerships. Together with our ELECTRO partners, we’re proving how electrified chemical recycling can turn challenging waste streams into valuable resources for a circular economy,” says Manjunath Patil, Senior Engineer Innovation & Technology at Borealis.
“Project ELECTRO combines top-tier scientific expertise with real-world testing. Our collaboration with Borealis – and the integration of material from Project STOP – shows how cross-sector innovation can unlock scalable solutions for both industry and society,” says Kevin Van Geem, Professor at Ghent University and Project ELECTRO coordinator.
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