Tire recycler Black Bear raises €11m to advance global ambitions

Nederweert, The Netherlands – Dutch company Black Bear has raised €11 million to refine its recovered carbon black (rBC) technology and start the global roll-out of its 'cradle-to-cradle' system.

As part of this, the company has formed a new consortium with four partners, including the largest Dutch banking corporation ING Group and investment firms 5square and Social Impact Ventures, as well as Thai conglomerate SCG, Black Bear announced 6 Sept.

“They are strategic partners who will play a key role in the development of our technology and who will speed up our international roll-out,” said CEO Martijn Lopes Cardozo.

Existing investors, including the original investors Chemelot Ventures and DOEN Participaties (Ventures), have also contributed to the round.

Located in Nederweert, The Netherlands, Black Bear’s industrial-scale prototype plant processes 1 million waste tires annually, producing 5 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of rCB, 5ktpa of bio-fuel, 3ktpa tonnes of steel and one megawatt hour of green electricity.

The new partnership, the Dutch company said, is part of Black Bear's ambition to scale-up the CO2-negative process by rolling out more than a 1,000 recover plants.

The company claims that each of its plants would prevent emissions equal to the CO2 captured by more than 1 million trees.

“It is remarkable that Black Bear is capable of making old tires into a very high-value product that can replace a polluting raw material. During the process, they also generate energy, which means the production process is highly energy-efficient,” said Mark Weustink of ING Sustainable Investments.