Swedish tire pyrolysis technology supplier plans to set foot in North American market
Enviro – a renowned tire pyrolysis equipment manufacturer who targets recovered carbon black and fuel oil – reports that its pyrolysis technology is in high demand in the North American market. The company currently has active memorandums of understanding (MoU’s) with three different parties in the tire recycling industry, as well as ongoing discussions with additional interested parties. CEO Thomas Sörensson and the Enviro team recently returned home from the US where they visited, among others, partners in the states of New York and Texas where recycling plants are planned to be built. “There are several reasons why we are more active than ever in North America. The market’s need for carbon black is expected to increase as the establishment of virgin production is becoming increasingly difficult due to stricter regulations and penalties, implemented to overcome the environmental problems created by the existing carbon black production”, says Thomas Sörensson.
Enviro has two active MoU’s in the US, with Treadcraft Limited and EE-TDF Cleveland LLC respectively, and one in Canada with ArticCan.
“The US projects are progressing as planned. They’ve both been looking for several years for a partner to implement a plant project with, and chose us due to our patented pyrolysis technology, a well-prepared Basic Design and proven commercialization of high and stable quality rCB” “In Canada, the market players have adopted a wait-and-see attitude with respect to their newly introduced producer responsibility legislation in Ontario and how it will impact them in practice.”
According to Enviro, many existing plants in North America have been forced to invest major sums in emissions purification and ordered to pay fines for failure to comply with those requirements. This, in combination with the materials deficit, has driven up prices for carbon black – and that creates openings for alternatives such as recovered carbon black to gain market shares more quickly.
“This development also means that carbon black is decoupled from oil prices and made less sensitive to lower oil prices. We are expecting the price floor to be higher than before, which benefits the profitability of recycled material. After all, our raw material costs are low, and in many cases, our materials even generate revenue.”
In addition to the three active MoU, Enviro asserts that there’s potential for additional partnerships in the region. One example is a potential plant project in Maryland, which the Enviro team also visited during the trip. Enviro says it is an experienced tire recycler who previously worked on a plant project based on another technology but is now considering moving forward with Enviro instead.
“The US projects are progressing well and will now intensify as a result of last week’s visits. As our new business model includes joint ownership, we will in detail evaluate which project should be prioritized.”
Article by Enviro.
Weibold is an international consulting company specializing exclusively in end-of-life tire recycling and pyrolysis. Since 1999, we have helped companies grow and build profitable businesses.