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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a request for information (RFI) to better understand the key opportunities and challenges associated with increased material circularity. This RFI aims to inform DOE’s upcoming efforts to advance circular economy technologies and systems in the United States. Developing pathways that keep materials in use beyond a single lifecycle is critical to decarbonizing the U.S. economy and setting the nation on the path to achieving the Biden Administration’s clean energy goals of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The transition to a circular economy represents a strategic opportunity for the United States to pioneer new technologies with international demand and to strengthen domestic supply chains ranging from critical materials to commodities.

Life for Tyres (L4T) – a busines group specialised in the conversion of end-of-life tires into advanced biofuel feedstock and high quality secondary raw materials –announced the opening of its first plant in Puertollano (Spain). The plant upcycles end-of-life tires (ELTs) into high quality secondary commodities, such as advanced biofuel feedstock, recovered carbon black and scrap steel, using a cutting-edge and proprietary technology. With an investment of 33 million euros and an annual processing of 27,000 tons of waste tires, the plant is the largest and most advanced ever built in Europe. The plant's inauguration is the result of more than 10 years of research, industrial testing and operational improvements, and represents a significant milestone for L4T while bringing highly promising new upcycling opportunities for the tire industry. Using proprietary technology developed in partnership with CURTI Group and protected by five patents, the plant produces high-quality end-products, which include advanced biofuel feedstock and circular depolymerization oil, both certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC).

According to Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), 20 million tonnes of rubber are used annually in the tire manufacturing sector to produce new tires. Over one million tonnes of industrial tires that are approaching the end of their useful lives are then buried on mine sites as a result of intensive use, creating environmental and operational challenges for mine operators. Circular Rubber Technologies (CRT) has developed a chemical-free devulcanization process that transforms one of the mining industry’s largest waste streams into a new valuable material. Their Rubber Reclaim product will be used to create new tires, significantly reducing the amount of virgin rubber demand and rubber ending up in landfills.

According to the latest press release by Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), regional Queensland is suffering with illegal tire dumping and dangerous tire stockpiles representing a missed opportunity for Australia’s northeast state. By recovering resources like steel and rubber from end-of-life tires, Queensland can build high-performance roads and generate valuable commercial markets that promote local jobs and manufacturing across the state. “Putting crumb rubber in roads is a winning circular economy formula already happening across Australia and around the world. “It’s time for Queensland State and Local government to start mandating their roads be made using Australian crumb rubber. By not mandating locally available rubber resources for roads, Queensland risks letting its road sector fall behind on industry best practice,” says Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia.

Scrap tires go through numerous recycling processes before they become new tires. A distinction is made between material recycling (sorting, separating and granulating), raw material recycling (e.g., pyrolysis process) and chemical recycling as the final finishing step of pyrolysis worldwide. As an integrated solution provider with over 40 years of experience in the tire industry, Zeppelin Systems collaborates with international partners in all aspects of scrap tire recycling. The German company RCB Nanotechnologies specializes in the finishing of raw-recovered carbon black. The company thus perfectly complements Zeppelin Systems' wide range of services throughout the sustainable circular economy for the tire industry.

Contec S.A., a startup recovering industrial raw materials from used tires, has raised EUR 10 million in their latest funding round. These funds will be used to expand the efficiency of Contec's plant (Szczecin, Poland) almost threefold. Two investors are providing the funds: HiTech ASI, the corporate venture capital fund of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, and the Warsaw Equity Group, which is the majority shareholder. Contec S.A. invests in increasing processing capacity The lead investor of the round is HiTech ASI, managed by VINCI - a subsidiary of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The second investor is Contec's major shareholder, the Warsaw Equity Group. The funds obtained (EUR 8 million - HiTech ASI and EUR 2 million - Warsaw Equity Group) will be used to increase the processing capacity of Contec's Szczecin plant. Once completed, the plant will be able to nominally process 33,000 tons of used tires per year – three times more than today. In addition, the modernization will increase the production capacity of post-pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black.

Zeppelin Systems GmbH has partnered with French waste-tire sorting company Regom to deliver integrated tire recycling systems employing artificial intelligence (AI) technology. According to Zeppelin Systems’press release, every three seconds, a fully automatic tire sorting machine determines the future of a used car tire; therefore, the French company Regom's technology manages around 800 tires per hour. This is made possible with the help of AI, which evaluates tire sidewall images at lightning speed after measurement and determines exact features and further use of scrap tires. The results are a high-accuracy detection rate of the tire’s brand, model, profile, size and wear.

*** Webinar recording inside *** The webinar "Upgrading Tire Pyrolysis Oils for Fuels and Chemicals Applications" was held by Topsoe on February 28. The high participation (200+ attendees) shows that the tire pyrolysis industry is interested in innovative technology solutions for upgrading pyrolysis oil.

Greater efficiency in protecting the environment, promoting the circular economy and promoting balanced and loyal relations between all operators in the sector are the main objectives of the Code of Best Practices. Adine, Cetraa, Conepa, the Spanish Recovery and Recycling Federation, Ganvam, Open, Signus and TNU signed the document that reflects the relationship between all the agents involved in the collection and management of end-of-life tires, which is entitled: "Code of Best Practices for the Management of End-of-Life Tires" . With the signing of this document, article 12.3 of Royal Decree 731/2020 is fulfilled, which includes the need to formalize a 'Voluntary Code of Best Practices for the Management of End-of-Life Tires', which promotes balanced and loyal relations among all the operators involved in this waste stream and contribute to the use of best practices in the development of these relationships.