CP Chem makes investments in chemical recycling

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 "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," Eric Hartz, president and co-founder of Nexus, said in a Dec. 16 interview.

"The use of funds is all about adding plants, which we have projects underway globally and this just enhances that effort as well. It also helps us further our goal that we just never stop innovating," he said.

Hartz declined to talk specifically about future sites, but the company is looking at Europe, South America and Asia to potentially construct additional locations.

The Nexus site in Atlanta has achieved commercial production and the influx of cash will allow the company to make additional improvements to enhance capacity there.

The CP Chem funding also helps set the stage for an additional round of funding planned for 2022, Hartz said.

Mura, meanwhile, recently opened a new office in the San Mateo, Calif., with plans to locate a processing site in the state of Washington. Construction is slated to begin next year.

"Our goal is not to be disruptive, but to be complementary. We want to take the parts of the waste industry that work well and complement them with our ability to recycle plastics that cannot be conventionally recycled," Jon Cozens, president of Mura North America, said in a statement.

"The United States generates more plastic waste than anywhere else globally, and the world has reached a make-or-break point in the fight against plastic pollution and climate change. Having launched our U.S. business in October, we are delighted to collaborate with CP Chem to develop advanced recycling capacity in the U.S.," Steve Mahon, CEO of Mura Technology, said in a statement.

Mura's first plant to be operated by subsidiary ReNew ELP is being constructed in Teesside, England, and expected to begin operations late next year.