• Black Bear Carbon intends to build a pyrolysis plant on the Chemelot industrial park and contribute to Chemelot's ambition to become the first circular hub in Europe.
  • The factory at Chemelot will operate under the name Recovered Carbon Black Nederland (RCBNL) as a 100% subsidiary of Black Bear Carbon.
  • In the factory, rubber granulate from car and truck tires will be converted into high-quality basic products oil, gas and recovered carbon black.
  • Backed by Chemelot and local partners, Black Bear Carbon prepares to begin construction of the plant in the third quarter of 2021.
  • Black Bear is organizing an online information session together with Chemelot on Friday 26 March.

On March 10, 2021, Black Bear Carbon, the innovative company that recovers carbon black, oil and gas from end-of-life tire granulate, has announced in its press release its intention to build a factory at the Chemelot industrial park in Geleen. A previous factory in Nederweert, in a joint venture with tire recycler Kargro, was dismantled after a fire in February 2019. After an intensive period of two years, Black Bear Carbon is living up to its reputation as a technology pioneer with the development of a best-in-class factory in terms of process, safety and reliability.

At the end of 2019, Black Bear Carbon announced that it was going to Rotterdam and made an energetic start towards that goal in 2020. In the course of 2020, timely realization of RCBNL turned out to be difficult to achieve due to the issue regarding nitrogen deposition rights. In close collaboration with Chemelot, the BBC has looked at the alternatives and decided to settle in the south of Limburg province.

The activities of Black Bear Carbon at Chemelot will focus on the recovery of the high-quality raw materials from the (virtually) steel and textile-free shredded rubber granulate of car and truck tires. The storage, shredding and preprocessing of tires will be done at suppliers. The process that Black Bear Carbon will realize at the Chemelot site is a circular process that fits seamlessly with the ambition of Chemelot and the region to transform into the first European Circular Hub.

Construction set to start in Q3 2021

Black Bear Carbon and Chemelot have applied for the permit at the end of 2020 and are fully engaged in preparations for the construction, which is expected to start in the third quarter of 2021. The potential synergy with other site users could result in further optimization of the construction of the factory and the development of the Black Bear Carbon technology. The project has an investment size of tens of millions of euros and is expected to generate approximately 30 jobs in the region.

On Friday, March 26, from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Black Bear Carbon will organize an online information moment in collaboration with Chemelot to further explain the plans and answer questions for the stakeholders in and around the Chemelot site.

Contribution to Chemelot's ambition to be climate neutral by 2050

The realization of this factory contributes to the ambition of Chemelot and the Limburg region to grow into a circular hub and thus contribute to the ambition to be fully climate neutral by 2050. Black Bear Carbon's plans are fully covered by Chemelot's current umbrella license.

In the past period, the Chemelot acquisition team has supported Black Bear Carbon in the process, from establishing itself as a 'site user' to submitting an application for an environmental permit. This reflects the great enthusiasm that Chemelot has for the Black Bear Carbon project. In addition, Chemelot facilitates a 'plug and play' concept in terms of utilities and site services, allowing Black Bear Carbon to fully concentrate on the realization of the plant.

Silvio Ghyoot, CEO Black Bear: “Chemelot offers us the best opportunities for the timely realization of our RCBNL project. Chemelot has proven to be a rapidly developing ecosystem for circularity and chemical processing. We believe that Black Bear Carbon will thrive in such an environment. Thanks to the Chemelot project, all the lessons we have learned within our engineering team can be applied, and we look forward to this important milestone for our company.” Loek Radix, CEO Chemelot: “Black Bear Carbon, like Chemelot, attaches great importance to circularity and innovation. The fact that Black Bear Carbon has chosen to establish itself at Chemelot makes me extremely proud and is a great compliment for the way Chemelot is positioned. This new collaboration fits in seamlessly with the ambition of Chemelot and the region to grow into the first circular hub in Europe. ”

About Black Bear Carbon

Black Bear Carbon is a manufacturer of green, recovered carbon black (rCB) sourced from tires instead of fossil oil as a raw material. Black Bear Carbon wants to change the industry with breakthrough technology and passionate people. We believe that we can save significant amounts of CO2 compared to traditional carbon black producers, solve the waste tire problem and simultaneously establish a profitable business.

Carbon black is a crucial component in rubber, plastics, inks and paints and is used to convert their properties into useful products. Almost everything you see around you is thatis black in color, contains “carbon black”. Current manufacturers produce carbon black by burning oil, emitting CO₂ and polluting the environment. Black Bear Carbon recovers carbon black from granulate from used tires in a clean and sustainable manner.

About Chemelot

Chemelot has the ambition to grow into the safest, sustainable and competitive chemical site in Europe by 2025 and to grow into a climate-neutral chemical site in 2050. The site currently employs more than 8100 employees with no fewer than 100 nationalities. Direct employment at Chemelot will grow to more than 10,000 employees by 2025. The activities at Chemelot generate a turnover of more than 10 billion euros per year. Chemelot accounts for approximately 20% of the chemical sector in the Netherlands and is one of the top 5 chemical clusters in the Netherlands.

The high degree of integration and synergy at Chemelot, the knowledge and expertise of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, the factories and the site services, are unique in Europe. This allows the factories on the Industrial Park as well as the pilot plants on the campus to operate efficiently in terms of raw materials, energy and costs and to produce competitively. The entire chain, from R&D, education, pilot and demo factories and large-scale manufacturing industry, is located on one site.

Press release by Black Bear Carbon.