Press release -
Quantafuel expands into the UK to help solve plastic waste problem
Norwegian recycling specialist Quantafuel has announced plans to expand into the UK with processing plants that create high value products from low value plastic waste.
Quantafuel’s first plant in the UK is planned for Sunderland, in north east England, which, subject to planning approval, could be up and running in a few years.
Quantafuel transforms plastic waste into sustainable products that are in high demand and contributes to solving the global plastic waste problem.
Other additional sites are also being considered by Quantafuel UK Ltd, which will lead to job-creation both during the construction and operation of the facilities.
A circular economy
“I’m pleased to announce Quantafuel’s plans to enter into circular plastics in the UK,” said Quantafuel’s interim CEO Terje Eiken.
“This is an important step because we see strong potential in the UK market. By upgrading used plastic waste into valuable products, we will contribute towards the circular economy and help improve the UK’s plastic recycling rates.”
A frontrunner in the industry, Quantafuel recycles plastic waste by breaking it down chemically to produce oil that can be used in the production of virgin-grade recycled plastic.
Chemical recycling of plastics replaces products from crude oil, helping more countries to reach their plastic recycling goals and making the entire value chain circular.
Quantafuel UK’s plants will process mixed post-consumer plastics that are currently not recycled, such as soft food packaging and a variety of domestic and industrial plastics. Today this plastic is often sent to landfill or incinerated in energy-from-waste plants.
First UK site planned for Sunderland
Quantafuel already has two plastic recycling plants; one in Skive, Denmark and one in Kristiansund, Norway. Now the Port of Sunderland is identified as its first location in the UK.
Quantafuel has submitted a preliminary planning application this week and is currently in dialogue with the Port of Sunderland and Sunderland City Council.
The company has chosen a prime 12-acre (approximately 50,000 m2) site on the eastern edge of the port due to its close proximity to shipping berths, transport links, and presence of local skilled workforce.
The plant will be designed to process more than 100,000 tonnes of plastic per year and should create hundreds of jobs during construction and provide business for local suppliers. It will also create around 50 jobs once operational. Plastic waste from across the north of England will be processed at the facility.
Quantafuel has created a new UK-based company, Quantafuel Sunderland Limited, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Quantafuel ASA and Midas Group AS, founded by Frank Ystenes. Quantafuel UK Ltd is also a 50:50 joint venture between Quantafuel ASA and Midas Group AS.
“We are thrilled”
Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council and Chair of Port of Sunderland, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Port of Sunderland has been chosen as the preferred location for Quantafuel’s first UK operation.
“Sunderland is a city transforming, and investments like this, allied with other significant developments in the city centre, Washington and the Coalfields, give an increasing confidence in the economic future of our city.
“There has been a concerted drive to stimulate investment in the city in general and the port in particular, with a huge programme of infrastructure works carried out to make parts of the estate shovel-ready. Quantafuel’s decision to locate to Sunderland vindicates this work and is testament to the ambition of the Port of Sunderland and the city council as its municipal owner.”
Eiken added: “We are grateful for the positive welcome from the Port of Sunderland and the city council. We look forward to pushing circular plastics in the UK.”
ENDS
Editor's Notes:
What will this mean for plastics recycling in the UK?
The UK has been facing an increasing challenge to recycle mixed and used plastics following a 2018 ban from China on the importation of plastics and the burning of plastics in energy from waste facilities.
The proposed new facilities by Quantafuel will help the UK to deal with waste plastic, while also producing valuable products that can be used as fuel or in the manufacture of new quality plastic materials.
What is chemical recycling of plastic waste?
Chemical recycling involves breaking down plastic waste into monomers – the basic building blocks of plastic. These building blocks can be put back together to produce new plastic, as well as other substances. Chemical recycling is a technology well suited to handling plastic waste that is unfit for mechanical recycling and displaces fossil oil and gas in the petrochemical industry.
About Quantafuel
Quantafuel is a Norwegian technology-based energy company with the purpose of ending wasteful and unsustainable handling of our planet's resources. Drawing on more than ten years of development, Quantafuel converts waste plastics back into low-carbon synthetic oil products replacing fossil oil products.
Quantafuel and its dedicated employees are committed to creating shareholder value and to having a meaningful impact on one of our time's most pressing environmental challenges.
Quantafuel UK Ltd is a 50:50 joint venture between Quantafuel ASA and Midas Group AS.
Quantafuel is a Norwegian technology-based energy company with the purpose of ending wasteful and unsustainable handling of our planet's resources. Drawing on more than ten years of development, Quantafuel converts waste plastics back into low-carbon synthetic oil products replacing virgin oil products. Quantafuel aims to rapidly build up production capacity on a global scale and to have a meaningful impact on one of our time's most pressing environmental challenges.
