Black Bear will produce 12,000 metric tons p.a. of recovered Carbon Black — a sustainable alternative that results in a reduction of over 65,000 tons of CO2 missions compared to the use of conventional Carbon Black.

Black Bear and HELM seek to start production and marketing of recovered Carbon Black from the flagship plant in Chemelot Industrial Park from the 2nd half of 2023.

On August 27, 2021, Black Bear Carbon B.V. (“Black Bear ”) and HELM AG (“HELM”) have announced a long-term supply chain and marketing cooperation. Black Bear will produce recovered Carbon Black from end-of-life tires via its proprietary technology. Both companies will jointly introduce this innovative product to industrial clients. Black Bear will contribute its extensive knowledge in product and application development while HELM will provide its supply chain know-how and commercial expertise through its broad market presence. This exclusive, long-term agreement covers Black Bear’s first flagship plant on the Chemelot Industrial Park in Geleen, The Netherlands, which is aimed for a start-up in the 2nd half of 2023. Both partners seek to extend their cooperation via further projects which Black Bear is planning.

“Society is confronted with a global challenge to drastically reduce CO2 emissions and implement carbon neutrality measures. Black Bear recognizes the importance of a circular economy where valuable raw materials are recovered into circular products. We are ready to start the global rollout of our state-of-the-art technology for upcycling End-of-Life tire rubber and we are very pleased to join forces with HELM because of their expertise and international network. Together we will be able to serve our customers better,” says Victor Vreeken, CEO of Black Bear says.

“Transforming the chemical industry towards a circular and sustainable future is a major task which can only be achieved through partnership, a long-term agenda and commitment from all stakeholders in our business. HELM is proud to partner with Black Bear to serve the markets with recovered Carbon Black from Black Bear’s flagship production unit,“ says Axel Viering, Member of the Executive Board of HELM.

Black Bear announced in May 2021 that it had successfully raised €7.5M in a first step towards funding its total capital needs of €78M for its new recovered Carbon Black flagship plant at Chemelot Industrial Park. The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding between Black Bear and HELM marks another milestone for the project.

About Black Bear Carbon

Black Bear is a green, recovered carbon black (rCB) manufacturer that produces carbon black using end-of-life tires instead of fossil oil as a resource material. Black Bear chooses to change the industry with breakthrough technology and with passionate people; because we believe that we can save considerable amounts of CO2 in the carbon black market, solve the waste-tire problem and operate a profitable business at the same time. Carbon black is a crucial component in rubber, plastics, inks and paints and is used to modify their mechanical and chemical properties into usable products. Almost everything that you see around you that is black in color has carbon black in it. Current manufacturers produce carbon black by combusting oil (the “furnace process”), emitting CO₂ and thereby polluting the environment. Black Bear recovers carbon black from used tires in a clean and sustainable way. Black Bear plans to lead the transition towards a circular economy for tires by rolling out hundreds of tire upcycling plants with local partners around the world, focusing on Europe for its next plants. When it reaches its full potential of repurposing every end-of-life tire with its circular solution, Black Bear will reduce global annual oil consumption by more than 215 million barrels. After an extensive period of experimenting and testing and with a few years of production experience, Black Bear is now ready to roll out its concept worldwide and start producing on a large commercial scale.

About HELM

HELM is a Hamburg, Germany, based family-owned company established in 1900. HELM is one of the world’s largest chemicals marketing companies and committed to providing solutions to its partners worldwide that support a successful transformation to a sustainable economy and society. The company secures access to the world’s key markets through its specific regional knowledge and its multinational presence. As a multifunctional marketing organization HELM is active in the chemicals industry, in the crop protection industry, in pharmaceuticals and in the fertilizer industry.

Press release by Black Bear Carbon.