EU Funded Project ELECTRO Taps Borealis Expertise to Transform Hard to Recycle Plastics

EU Funded Project ELECTRO Taps Borealis Expertise to Transform Hard to Recycle Plastics

(IN BRIEF) Borealis is a key partner in Project ELECTRO, an EU-funded initiative developing electrified chemical recycling technologies to convert hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-value olefins using renewable electricity. Drawing on its expertise in chemical recycling and polyolefins, Borealis leads work on circular feedstocks for steam cracking and links the project with Project STOP to test technologies using real-world waste streams from Southeast Asia. The collaboration aims to reduce emissions, enable industrial-scale circularity and deliver practical solutions aligned with Europe’s climate and circular economy goals.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 15-Dec-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Borealis is playing a central role in advancing Europe’s transition to a circular plastics economy as a key partner in Project ELECTRO, an EU-funded research and innovation initiative focused on developing the next generation of electrified chemical recycling technologies. The consortium brings together leading universities, research institutes and industry partners to create scalable, low-emission solutions capable of converting difficult-to-recycle plastic waste into valuable raw materials.

Photo: Pyrolysis oil testing laboratory
(c) Borealis

At the core of Project ELECTRO is the development of electrified thermochemical recycling processes that can transform mixed, contaminated and multilayer plastic waste into high-purity olefins such as ethylene and propylene. By replacing fossil-based energy with renewable electricity, the project aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, supporting the European Union’s climate neutrality and circularity objectives. The technologies under development are designed to operate efficiently at industrial scale, addressing one of the key challenges in plastics recycling today.

Borealis contributes extensive expertise in chemical recycling and polyolefin innovation and leads the work package focused on enabling circular feedstocks for steam cracking. Its work includes evaluating full-range pyrolysis oil and its fractions, optimising hydrocarbon mixtures for large-scale cracking, and developing tailored cracking strategies for varying feedstock qualities. Advanced filtration, prefractionation and quality assessment techniques are also being applied to improve process reliability and performance.

Photo: Pyrolysis oil samples
© Borealis

A distinctive aspect of Borealis’ involvement is the connection between Project ELECTRO and Project STOP, the global waste management initiative co-founded by Borealis and Systemiq. Through this link, household plastic waste collected in Indonesia is being used as feedstock in ELECTRO’s research activities. This approach allows the consortium to test electrified chemical recycling technologies on real-world, low-value waste streams, ensuring that innovation translates into measurable environmental and societal impact.

By combining cutting-edge scientific research with practical testing and industrial expertise, Project ELECTRO demonstrates how collaboration across academia and industry can accelerate the transition toward a climate-neutral, circular plastics system. Borealis’ participation reinforces its long-term commitment to scaling circular solutions and delivering tangible progress toward sustainable materials and waste management.

About Borealis
Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions. In Europe, Borealis is also an innovative leader in polyolefins recycling and a major producer of base chemicals. We leverage our polymer expertise and decades of experience to offer value-adding, innovative and circular material solutions for key industries such as consumer products, energy, healthcare, infrastructure and mobility.

With customers in over 120 countries and head office in Vienna, Austria, Borealis employs around 6,200 people. In 2024, we generated a net profit of EUR 566 million. OMV, the sustainable chemicals, fuels and energy company with a focus on circular economy solutions, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, owns 75% of our shares. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), owns the remaining 25%.

In re-inventing essentials for sustainable living, we build on our commitment to safety, our people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence. We are accelerating the transformation to a circular economy of polyolefins and expanding our geographical footprint to better serve our customers around the globe. Our operations are augmented by two important joint ventures: Borouge (with ADNOC, headquartered in the UAE); and Baystar™ (with TotalEnergies, based in the US).
www.borealisgroup.com

About Project STOP
Project STOP (STop Ocean Plastics), launched in 2017 by Borealis and Systemiq, is a pioneering program that provides access to effective circular waste management systems at scale in Southeast Asia. Collaborating with public and private sector partners, the initiative builds waste management infrastructure and deploys technical expertise to achieve zero waste leakage, increase recycling, build economically sustainable programs, create new jobs and reduce the harmful impacts of mismanaged and openly burnt waste on public health and the environment. The first city partnership was established in 2017 in the city of Muncar, East Java, followed by others in Pasuruan, East Java, and Jembrana, Bali. Following the successful handover of all three Project STOP city partnerships to the local regency governments, Project STOP’s focus is now on providing a Regency-wide circular waste management system in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java (Project STOP Banyuwangi Hijau) further enabled by Borealis and Project STOP’s scale-up partner and funder Clean Rivers.      For more information on Project STOP visit  www.stopoceanplastics.com

About Project ELECTRO
For more information about Project ELECTRO and its partners, visit www.electro-project.eu

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SOURCE: BOREALIS