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The ETRA Conference returns to the Hotel Le Louise in March for the latest update on challenges and opportunities in the tyre recycling sector
Exhibitors will be able to book space for tables and banners in the foyer at the conference where they can display brochures and samples for review.
The Conference Sessions Speakers will include commercial leaders, NGOs, government representatives, researchers, material and product developers as well as collaborators from support industries. Delegates are invited to ask questions and clarify points. The conference is designed to provide an open discussion of the current events in the tyre recycling industries. The Spotlight The Spotlight is a highlight that has been added to focus on innovative new materials, products and applications that are still being developed for commercialisation. Speakers will have 15 minutes to describe the unique features of their designs and how they will contribute to market growth. EU Projects Networking The 2025 programme offers many Networking opportunities. The first will take place on Tuesday 25 March during the session Workshop of the RE-PLAN CITY LIFEProject. The second will be part of the cocktail reception on Wednesday 26 March. Both events will consist of networking meetings in which each pre-registered participant company will have a chance to meet new potential partners.
As always, cocktail receptions, the gala dinner, morning coffee, coffee breaks and lunches are part of the conference package. The Welcome Reception and Gala Dinner offer a pre-conference evening to meet and greet speakers and delegates in an informal atmosphere. Delegates are encouraged to invite a guest to share the Gala evening. Lunches are reserved for speakers, exhibitors and delegates. Booking details can be found on the ETRAwebsite.
Episode 69 of The Tyre Recycling Podcast features Stefan Hey, Chief Executive of the NTDA, as we delve into the critical issues surrounding waste tyre management.
8:56 The government needs to make it easier to invest in business
9:45 Recycling could create opportunities in deprived areas
10:49 Government needs to understand that these areas could be hubs of green excellence
11:27 It is a “no brainer” but when you try to talk to government it is like the screensaver goes up.
12:08 Green strategy is just manifesto talk 12:39 Government has no true understanding of innovation 14:15 Government is lacking in long term strategic plans
Bolder Industries Belgium, an affiliate of US-based Bolder Industries has announced that The European Commission has awarded the company a €32 million grant from its EU Innovation Fund pilot programme, marking a significant endorsement of its approach to sustainable materials. The Flanders region has committed an additional €2 million to support the construction of Bolder Industries’ new facility at the Port of Antwerp.
European Commission Award Grant to Bolder Industries
The grant, awarded from a pool of over 337 applicants with only 85 selected projects, highlights Bolder’s dedication to circular innovation and underscores its potential for substantial impact on greenhouse gas reduction. The Antwerp facility is projected to achieve up to an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional virgin carbon black production, showcasing the company’s commitment to transformative sustainability.
The forthcoming Antwerp plant, modeled after its U.S. facility in Missouri, will have four proprietary reactors, a state-of-the-art finishing line and will use wind power and heat generated at the location for its energy needs. The Antwerp facility will process over 4 million end-of-life tyres annually. This increased production capacity will accelerate the availability of the company’s flagship sustainable raw materials, BolderBlack™ and BolderOil™, to meet the rising global demand for eco-friendly alternatives.
“This is more than a grant—It’s an investment in the future of sustainable manufacturing,” said Tony Wibbeler, Founder & CEO of Bolder Industries. “Support from the European Commission and the Flanders region validates the innovation at the heart of our technology and the critical need for sustainable solutions across the globe. This allows us to create a blueprint for a greener, more circular future.”
“As Bolder’s first facility of this scale in Europe, the Antwerp plant is a foundational step in the company’s broader European growth strategy,” added Wim Van den Broeck, Bolder Industries Director of Project Development.
“Construction of the facility will begin in 2026, with full operational capacity anticipated by 2027.”
Contec S.A. has announced the completion of its third and fourth pyrolysis lines, marking a significant milestone in the company’s growth and execution within budget. This milestone from last year’s strategic investment includes installing and commissioning their third and fourth pyrolysis lines. These new lines are already operational.
New Pyrolysis Lines Operational at Contec
With these additions, Contec is set to triple its production capacity over the coming year, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and sustainability. The expanded capacity will allow the company to better meet the growing demand for sustainable raw materials while contributing to the circular economy by transforming waste into valuable resources.
Dominik Dobrowolski, Contec’s Chief Investment Officer, says, “The completion of our third and fourth pyrolysis lines shows Contec’s commitment to growth and sustainability. Increasing our capacity to produce circular products and responding to market demands also drives forward our vision for a greener future. This expansion underscores our commitment to providing innovative solutions that benefit our customers and the environment.”
With these new lines now operational, Contec has initiated regular production as scheduled, marking the on-time fulfillment of commitments made over two years ago.
In a step that highlights the dire state of the UK tyre recycling sector, the TRA, the NTDA and the BTMA have come together to write to the Secretary of State for the Environment
Due to the nature of the correspondence, we are publishing this letter in full. Those engaged in tyre collection and recycling, should they wish to add their voice to this letter, should write to their own MP. The way the system works is that MPs can only respond to members of their own constituencies. You can write to Steve Reed yourselves, but he will not acknowledge receipt.
31st October 2024
Dear Secretary of State,
We write to you on behalf of the Tyre Industry of the UK. The trade bodies we lead represent, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, collectors and reprocessors of tyres. We look forward to your engagement on the issues we raise, issues that have immediate bearing on the objectives you and the Labour government have set to protect nature and the environment. Specifically, the agenda you set your civil servants on arrival at DEFRA to create a roadmap to take us to a zero-waste economy.
For the last quarter of a century we have been promoting, and encouraging our members and our national regulators towards, an economy where resources are reused and recycled, creating new jobs and investment to protect nature and reduce our environmental impact. We very much welcome your ambition to support sustainable economic growth by driving up resource efficiency and reducing emissions and waste.
The rapid review of the EIP you announced at the end of July is a welcome opportunity to revitalise a stalled waste tyre policy process. Your political predecessors in DEFRA spoke of the creation of a circular economy. Each of our trade bodies have championed steps and measures that would advance a circular economy and will play an essential part in the delivery of your zero-waste vision. Disappointingly, despite apparent political ambition for change, we are now in October 2024 and the necessary political action has not followed the welcome rhetoric when it comes to UK waste tyre management.
The EIP is a moment to energise the UK’s tyre waste and recycling industries. But action can be taken now, before the completion of the EIP review. There is no need to wait for a new roadmap on these specifics.
As stated in the TRA’s letter to you dated 18 July, over 40 million used tyres are processed annually in the UK. Latest figures show more than 300,000 tons of UK end-of-life tyre are exported per annum, which is far too many given that the UK has at least 150,000 tons of idle domestic processing capacity. This must be reflected in the EIP and any roadmap to create a zero-waste economy. What our members need, however, is action now. Not new action but the implementation of the rules that have been stalled.
Ending T8 exemptions (announced some years ago, but no action has followed. Scottish authorities ended T8 exemption in 2018)
Ending exports of whole end-of-life car tyres (ELTs) (as Australia has demonstrated, a simple and effective means of addressing environmental concerns and ensuring domestic capability)
Given the industry consensus, government’s commitment to end T8 exemptions and the subsequent initiation of the necessary parliamentary process, we would like to know if you are ready to consider using an ‘operational condition’, available to you as Secretary of State, to stop the current inadequate regulatory regime British tyre operators are working under? Using such a device will save parliamentary time and demonstrate an immediate success for you.
To make this happen, we hope you are willing to do what your recent predecessors did not, ask your officials to update you on this policy and present the procedures open to you to immediately take steps to progress the aims you have set your department.
At the end of last month, you told the Labour Party conference that as this government will “end the throwaway society by creating new jobs reusing and recycling materials as we work towards a circular economy that protects nature and our precious climate.” As the electric vehicle revolution continues apace the weight of used tyre waste that needs to be managed will also increase. The UK has the domestic capability to handle more of that waste. Yet current regulations encourage exports, to the detriment of our recycling industry and its future development. Further, the measures we are calling for will provide investors with the confidence required to deliver the next generation of technological solutions and strengthen domestic resilience. Shred only export immediately places the waste product in a more regulated and accountable framework, domestically and abroad (as Australia has demonstrated). Irresponsible export of waste is no longer acceptable.
Now is the time to take the urgent action necessary for the national interest.
We look forward to your reply and would welcome the opportunity to provide more detail to you in a personal briefing, if necessary.
Peter Taylor OBE of the Tyre Recovery Association
Supported by:
Alfred Graham from the The Imported Tyre Manufacturers’ Association
Darren Lindsay from the British Tyre Manufacturers Association
Stefan Hay from the National Tyre Dealers Association
Podcast 68 discusses the changing environment for end of life tyres in the UK, and touches on some of the potential outcomes with Darren Lindsey, CEO of the BTMA
Issue proceeds will be used for the construction of the new Pyrum site in Perl-Besch, participation in joint ventures for new plants and general corporate purposes
Pyrum Innovations AG successfully placed a capital increase against cash contributions on the market, excluding shareholders’ subscription rights. A total of 363,637 new shares were issued at a placement price of EUR 27.50 per new share, resulting in gross issue proceeds of approximately EUR 10.0 million for the Company.
Pascal Klein, CEO of Pyrum Innovations AG said; “We would like to thank the investors involved for their trust and are delighted that we were able to gain Ralf Bohle GmbH, known for its “Schwalbe” brand, as a new investor as part of the placement. The funds raised will enable us to drive forward the further development of our company. With the long-term purchase agreement for our rCB from Continental, in addition to the purchase agreements with Schwalbe – also for rCB – and with BASF for our oil, we have achieved the final piece of the puzzle for our rollout plan. What we still need now are larger production capacities. The capital increase will help enormously and is essentially a major step towards the construction of our second Pyrum-owned plant in Perl-Besch. In addition, we can increase our share in the joint venture plant in the Czech Republic to up to 49 per cent and thus also participate more strongly in the income from this planned plant.”
The share capital of the company will be increased from EUR 3,253,735.00 divided into 3,253,735 no-par value registered shares with a nominal share of the share capital of EUR 1.00 per share by partially utilising the Authorised Capital 2024 by issuing 363,637 no-par value registered shares by EUR 363,637.00 to EUR 3,617,372.00. Ralf Bohle GmbH will hold a 4% stake inPyrum following the capital increase. The company plans to use these proceeds for the development of the new site in Perl-Besch, for participation in joint ventures for new plants of the Pyrum Innovations AG as well as for general corporate purposes.
The new shares are to be included into trading on the open market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the Scale segment and into trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Euronext Growth). Inclusion will take place immediately after the capital increase, probably at the beginning of November 2024.
Industrial equipment distributor Bliss & Reels is entering the recycling equipment market and aims to take on one of Australia’s largest waste streams in partnership with French manufacturer MTB
Bliss & Reels has a wealth of experience in supplying, commissioning, and servicing a variety of production machinery for steel, concrete, asphalt and timber industries.
Now it’s using its expertise to help create a smarter, greener Australian economy. The company is entering a new era, partnering with French recycler and recycling equipment manufacturer MTB.
Martin Kesselring, Managing Director Bliss & Reels, says the strategic move comes on the back of regulatory changes in Australia’s waste and recycling landscape and aligns with the company’s vision for resource recovery.
“We’ve got to stop looking at waste as waste, instead treating it as a valuable resource,” Kesselring says.
“With other countries no longer accepting our rubbish, and the Australian Government introducing waste export bans, it creates a lot of opportunity here in Australia.”
Stefan Reiling, Business Development for Recycling and Automation, says secondary mining of metal and copper from Australia’s “mountain” of waste tyres is an ideal introduction into the industry.
Reiling will head Bliss & Reels recycling division, working closely with MTB to bring its containerised solutions for tyre recycling to Australia.
He says one of the attractions of MTB is that it not only manufactures recycling equipment for metal recovery but operates its own nonferrous recycling plants.
“The idea thatMTB carries out practical production is very attractive,” he says. “They use the machines they develop.”
MTB’s range of equipment extends from full recycling lines to turnkey and compact lines but it’s the recycling line in a container that Reiling believes will be suited to the Australian market.
“It’s a range of ready-to-use lines made up of a series of MTB machines contained in one or various containers,” he says.
“It’s plug and play. When we talk to customers about their recycling challenges, this seems like a good solution, especially for remote areas.”
MTB continually expands its equipment range to provide a variety of solutions for all types of waste. New equipment is designed to respond to market challenges and to perfect solutions.
“Innovation is really a key factor for us,” explains MTB Sales Manager Romain Doeppen. “We take our role of advising our customers very seriously, so that together we can design the most technically efficient recycling lines, but also the most profitable and energy-efficient.
“The evolution of our range and the integration of new technologies enable us to meet ever more complex demands.”
Ragn-Sells and technology developer Inrigo are mutually investing in technology capable of recovering raw materials from rubber in worn-out tyres
“If we are serious about building a sustainable society, we must use the resources we have already extracted, over and over again. In this case, we are developing advanced technology with the aim to enable tyre manufacturers to replace virgin oil with recycled raw materials, said Pål Hansen”, CEO at Ragn-Sells Dekkgjenvinning AS.
Pyrolysis technology makes it possible to break down tyre rubber into reusable raw materials. This way, old tyres can replace fossil alternatives in manufacturing as well as the climate-intensive practice of incinerating disused tyres. The raw materials extracted can also be used in, for example, asphalt; an application with similar effects of mitigating emissions which is also suitable for lower quality products.
“Ragn-Sells has committed to providing circular solutions ensuring that a minimum of two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions is prevented as early as 2030. Putting recycled resources from worn-out tyres back on the market is an important step toward this goal”, said Hansen.
Every year, around 140,000 tonnes of tyres no longer in use are collected in Sweden and Norway. Today, they are typically incinerated to provide energy for cement production. For this reason, investing more in pyrolysis technology has the potential to save large emissions.
“Only together with our partners can we create the best circular solutions. The collaboration with Inrigo will enable us to make use of waste in a sector where material recycling has previously been a challenge”, added Hansen.
The Ragn-Sellsand Inrigo collaboration is currently at a pilot stage and will gradually be scaled up in the next year. The project has received a grant from Innovasjon Norge, Norway’s governmental programme for supporting sustainable growth and innovation.
Footnote: This Norwegian government support comes at a time when similar projects in the UK are struggling to find that support
Toyoda Gosei says it is doubling its rubber recycling capacity at the Morimachi Plant in central Japan to accelerate the recycling of rubber used in automobiles
Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Has announced that it is doubling its rubber recycling capacity at its Morimachi Plant in central Japan to accelerate the recycling of rubber used in automobiles.
Toyoda Gosei said it began operations of its first recycling line in 2021, using its proprietary devulcanisation technology that can recycle rubber products into high-quality raw materials.
A second line is now being put into operation that will double the previous rubber recycling capacity to 1,200 tons annually. The new line, which is scheduled to start mass production in 2025, incorporates improved technology to raise the quality of the recycled rubber. This enables to increase the percentage of recycled material mixed into new material from several percent up to 20 per cent, which is with this almost all of the waste from opening trim weatherstrips manufactured at the Morimachi Plant can be recycled, Toyoda Gosei said.
Going forward, Toyoda Gosei states it will collaborate with automakers and other bodies to lead the world in rubber recycling.
