Pyrum partners with Suez for first UK tire pyrolysis plant

Dillingen, Germany – Pyrum Innovations AG has partnered up with Suez recycling and recovery UK Ltd to build its first end-of-life tire (ELT) pyrolysis plant in the UK.

In a 20 June statement, the German tire recycler said it had entered into a “one-year exclusivity agreement” with the water utility company to determine the location of the plant and begin permitting process.

As part of the agreement, Suez will bear the costs for the approval process.

The planned facility will have three pyrolysis reactors and a recycling capacity of around 20 kilotonnes of ELTs per year. 

The partnership is part of Pyrum’s European rollout of its pyrolysis technology, according to CEO Pascal Klein.

“With Suez we were able to win one of the leading companies in the field of sustainable solutions and innovative technologies for the British circular economy,” he said.

The first location, he went on to say, should now be determined “as soon as possible”, before the approval process is started with local authorities.

Suez aims to leverage its experience in delivering new infrastructure, according to the waste management company’s CEO John Scanlon.

“Suez is the natural choice to introduce this innovative technology in the UK, which will significantly improve the recycling of end-of-life tires and significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to current tire recycling technologies,” he added.

With the move to the UK, Pyrum said it aimed to tap the “promising” UK recycling market for scrap tires.

The nation produces 50 million waste tires (480 kilotonnes) per year, of which 13.4 million tires are currently used as alternative fuel.