Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC is taking ownership stakes in two chemical recycling companies based on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but both with global aspirations.

Nexus Circular LLC of Atlanta and Mura Technology Ltd. of London are receiving investments through CP Chemical's Six Pines Investment LLC subsidiary. CP Chemical, itself, is a joint venture between Chevron Corp. USA Inc. and Phillips 66 Co.

Terms of the invests were not disclosed. CP Chem sees them as a way to expand the company's circular product portfolio.

"We share a common goal to keep plastic waste out of the environment. Waste plastic should not end up in the environment, as they can be substantially recycled to create new plastics again and again," Vice President of Sustainability Benny Mermans said in a statement..

Chemical recycling, also known by some as advanced recycling, reduces plastics into their molecular components. They can then be dropped in to manufacturing processes and will perform the same as their virgin counterparts. Mechanical recycling, in comparison, reprocesses material that remains plastic.

Nexus uses pyrolysis, a combination of heat and pressure in the absence of oxygen, to break down plastics to create hydrocarbon oil that can be used to make new plastics. Mura's technology, called HydroPRS, mixes plastics in water under heat and pressure to create hydrocarbons.

Nexus calls the move by Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC "a meaningful investment" that will allow the company to further develop existing operations as well as expand elsewhere.

"It just also solidifies our position in the marketplace and helps attract more funding for the overall goal of scaling as quickly as possible," said Eric Hartz, president and co-founder of Nexus, in a Dec. 16 interview.

» Publication Date: 16/12/2021

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