(Finance) – MAIRE announces that NEXTCHEM (Sustainable Technology Solutions), through its subsidiary MyRemono, has signed a Toll Manufacturing agreement with Röhm, under which Röhm will supply MyRemono with waste PMMA to be processed and chemically transformed into ultrapure monomers of a quality similar to virgin one.
This initiative, explains a note, leverages NEXTCHEM’s proprietary NXRe technology, a continuous depolymerization process that allows the chemical recycling of PMMA efficiently. Röhm will also act as an off-taker of recycled methacrylate monomer (rMMA), to be reused for the production of new PMMA products in a fully circular process. The agreement includes the payment of a processing fee by Röhm to MyRemono.
The initiative follows the creation of a European consortium aimed at supporting the circularity of PMMA, which includes MyRemono, Röhm, Pekutherm and Polyvantis. Pekutherm will manage the logistics and sorting of PMMA materials, while Polyvantis will take care of mechanical recycling.
MyRemono will chemically recycle PMMA waste in its first industrial-scale plantcurrently under development in Italy, with the support of the European Innovation Fund. The plant, which is expected to be completed in 2026, will have an initial processing capacity of approximately 5,000 tonnes per year of PMMA, an amount needed to produce approximately 10 million car taillights, demonstrating how significant volumes of recycled material can replace virgin resources in production.
Compared to current virgin MMA manufacturing processes, recycled MMA produced with NXRe PMMA TECHNOLOGY is expected to reduce the carbon footprint by more than 90%[1]. The overall investment for technology development and scale-up, as well as for the construction of the first industrial-scale plant, is currently expected to be 15 million euros, financed mainly by a bank loan and a grant from the Fund for EU innovation of 4 million euros.
With this partnership NEXTCHEM lays the foundations for the licensing of NXRe PMMA technologya key component for the future development of chemical depolymerization of other value-added materials, such as polystyrene and polyolefins.
Alessandro Bernini, CEO of MAIREcommented: “Our NXRe PMMA technology will play a key role for the circular economyforming one of the key pillars of our value proposition for sustainable materials. The construction of this world’s first advanced recycling plant and the creation of this consortium are a clear recognition of the relevance and validity of disruptive technologies that respond to contemporary challenges.”