Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals, fertilizers and the mechanical recycling of plastics, has acquired a majority stake in Renasci N.V., a Belgium-based provider of innovative recycling solutions and the creator of the novel Smart Chain Processing (SCP) concept.
Borealis announced the acquisition of a 10% stake in Renasci in July 2021; today it announces an increase of its investment to acquire a majority stake of 50.01%, signalling on-going confidence in the potential of Renasci’s patented SCP concept to drive the circular transformation. The investment is an important component of Borealis’ strategy to reach its ambitious circular goals, which target a six-fold increase in the volume of circular products and solutions to 600 kilotonnes by 2025, rising to 1.8 million tonnes by 2030. The acquisition will support Borealis to reach these goals by providing increasing long-term access to chemically recycled feedstock from Renasci’s Ostend facility and through enabling access to key circular technologies.
SCP is unique because it enables the processing of multiple waste streams using different recycling technologies under one roof, resulting in exceptionally high valorisation of waste. Through leveraging its market access, know-how, and innovative technological capabilities, Borealis will accelerate the implementation of the SCP concept and will also explore opportunities for replicating the model in strategic locations.
“With this investment, we mark another milestone on our path to realising our Strategy 2030 goals. Our acquisition of a controlling stake in Renasci has the potential to unlock significant progress on circularity for our entire industry, and is proof of the EverMinds™ spirit in action,” says Borealis CEO Thomas Gangl.
“We are committed to leading our industry towards a more sustainable future, and this acquisition is pivotal to our success. Renasci and its SCP concept are perfectly aligned to Borealis’ circular cascade model, which sits at the heart of our ambition to become circular in plastic and in carbon,” says Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President of Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology.
Strengthening Borealis’ Borcycle™ C portfolio
The controlling stake in Renasci will support Borealis to further strengthen its Borcycle™ C range of product offerings by providing future supply security of chemically recycled feedstock. Borcycle C is a portfolio of transformational chemical recycling solutions with ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) PLUS-certified content based on the mass balance approach, giving polyolefin-based, post-consumer waste another life. Chemically identical to products derived from fossil feedstock, Borcycle C solutions are suitable for all applications, including those that are subject to stringent quality and safety regulations such as healthcare and food packaging, which cannot always be met using mechanically recycled materials.
