Neste, Borealis and Covestro Plan to Make Polycarbonate From Recycled Tires

Neste, Borealis and Covestro have signed a project agreement to enable the recycling of discarded tires into plastics for automotive applications. When no longer fit for use, tires are liquefied by means of chemical recycling and then processed into base chemicals and further into polycarbonates. These materials can then be used in various automotive applications, from parts of headlamps to radiator grilles.

“Circularity requires cooperation, and this cooperation with our partners Neste and Borealis is testament to the possibilities at our disposal,” says Guido Naberfeld, Covestro senior vice president. “We are creating options to turn old tires into new car parts again. With that, we are supporting our automotive customers and addressing an increasingly prominent question discussed across the value chain: How to match high-performance materials with recycled content? Projects like this can be the answer.”

Neste turns liquefied, discarded tires into a high-quality raw material for polymers and chemicals manufacturing, and supplies it to Borealis. Borealis will then process the Neste-produced raw material into base chemicals phenol and acetone, which are supplied to Covestro. Covestro can use these materials to make polycarbonates. The share of recycled content is attributed to the final products using a mass balancing approach.

The first products based on the collaboration are already available as each party has manufactured the first batch of their respective contribution to the project. Aside from polycarbonates, the project partners may also consider polyurethanes as a possible end product, which could also find its way into automotive interiors. The companies emphasize that the potential to scale-up these types of developments should be considered when setting ambitious targets for future EU regulations, such as the End of Life Vehicles Regulation.

“This project can serve as a blueprint when it comes to establishing circularity in the field of plastics in cars,” says Jeroen Verhoeven, Neste vice president. “It shows how low-quality waste materials can be turned into very high-quality plastics. This is good news for the polymers and automotive industries as well as for the environment.”