Neste doubles liquefied waste plastic processing capacity in H2 2023

Neste successfully concluded another series of industrial-scale processing runs with increasing volumes of liquefied waste plastic at its refinery in Porvoo, Finland, as its effort to scale-up chemical recycling.

The processing runs in the second half of 2023 doubled the total amount of liquefied waste plastic processed by Neste to more than 6,000 tons.

For the first time, the largest run in 2023 exceeded 2,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic. The output of the runs is high-quality, ISCC PLUS certified material for new plastics.

“We are processing increasing volumes of waste plastic, which is testament to our commitment to scale up chemical recycling. We are confident we will see chemical recycling become a commercial-scale contributor to the circularity of plastics in the upcoming years,” said Heikki Färkkilä, Vice President Chemical Recycling.

Neste’s refinery in Porvoo has successfully processed more than 6,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic so far. 

Further investment to raise volume

A new facility is currently being constructed at Neste’s Porvoo refinery to enable the upgrading of 150,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic each year.

This first phase of Neste’s EU Innovation Fund backed PULSE project, which sees the company investing EUR 111 million, is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025. In total, PULSE is aiming for an annual capacity to process 400,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic.

Besides contributing to the overall development of chemical recycling, processing liquefied waste also helps Neste to take steps forwards developing its Porvoo refinery into a renewable and circular solutions site.