Recently, LYB announced that it will build its first industrial scale advanced recycling demonstration factory in Wesseling, Germany, to convert consumed plastic waste into raw materials for producing new plastic materials and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The factory will use LYB's proprietary MoReTec technology, with an estimated annual production capacity of 50000 tons, and can recover plastic packaging waste generated by over 1.2 million German residents in a year. The factory is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.

Peter Vanacker, CEO of LYB, said, "We are committed to addressing the global challenges posed by plastic waste and promoting a circular economy. This plan will help us return more plastic waste to the value chain, allowing us to produce more materials that can be used for high-quality applications and preserve the value of plastic as long as possible."

LYB's MoReTec demonstration factory will solve the problem of plastic recycling, such as the recycling of mixed or soft plastic waste that currently requires landfill or incineration treatment, and use the advanced recycled materials produced for the production of polymers, applied in many industries including medical and food packaging. In addition, LYB's proprietary catalyst technology requires lower process temperatures, reduced energy consumption, and higher yields. Due to low energy consumption, this process can be powered by electricity, including renewable energy electricity with net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

LYB states that these differentiated advantages also bring carbon footprint advantages. Compared with the process using fossil as raw material, this process uses recycled pyrolysis gas as raw material, with lower energy demand. It can use electric heating design to replace fossil raw materials and recycle plastic waste that currently requires incineration or landfill treatment, which helps significantly reduce carbon footprint.