TOMRA Partners with OMV and Borealis to Close Plastic Recycling Gaps

TOMRA Partners with OMV and Borealis to Close Plastic Recycling Gaps

(IN BRIEF) TOMRA, in collaboration with OMV and Borealis, is advancing plastic recycling by supplying high-quality raw materials from mixed post-consumer plastic waste. Through long-term feedstock supply agreements, TOMRA’s innovative sorting facility in Germany will provide clean fractions of specific polymer types, ensuring a stable supply of sustainable raw materials for OMV’s ReOil® plants in Austria and Borealis’ mechanical recycling operations in Europe. This initiative supports OMV Group’s 2030 targets to increase circular products and solutions, contributing to the transition to a circular economy by closing the loop in plastics recycling and reducing reliance on virgin materials.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 26-Apr-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — OMV and Borealis have entered into long-term feedstock supply agreements for their recycling facilities with TOMRA Feedstock, a subsidiary of leading sorting technology producer TOMRA. These agreements ensure a consistent supply of sustainable and high-quality raw materials for OMV Group’s recycling operations. OMV will process up to 29,000 tons p.a. of feedstock supplied from TOMRA Feedstock plants in its ReOil® plants in Austria, while Borealis will process feedstock produced by TOMRA at its mechanical recycling operations in Europe. The feedstock will be produced from mixed post-consumer plastic material otherwise lost to landfill and incineration at a first-of-its-kind sorting facility currently being developed by TOMRA in Germany. By contributing to the OMV Group’s strategic targets of producing circular products and solutions, these agreements play a crucial role in closing the loop in plastics to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.​

​​TOMRA is a global leader in sensor-based sorting systems for metal and waste recycling and is currently building a sorting plant in Germany that will have an input capacity of 80,000 metric tons per annum and be operational at the end of 2025. TOMRA Feedstock has pioneered an innovative process that transforms pre-sorted mixed post-consumer plastic waste – materials that would otherwise end up in incineration – sorted into clean fractions of specific polymer types. These fractions can then be further processed in mechanical and chemical recycling plants such as those run by OMV and Borealis.

​​OMV has signed a long-term contract for the supply by TOMRA Feedstock of up to 29,000 tons p.a. of chemical recycling feedstock. This feedstock will be used for OMV’s self-developed and patented ReOil® technology for chemical recycling – thereby replacing virgin polyolefins. This will make a significant contribution to meeting recycling targets.

​​Daniela Vlad, OMV Executive Vice President Chemicals & Materials: “This long-term supply agreement will provide feedstock for our ReOil® technology, which in turn will transform it into high-quality sustainable raw materials for plastics production. In this way, we are making a significant contribution to the creation of a circular economy for plastics.”

​​Borealis will be using the feedstock at its operations based on Borealis’ Borcycle™ M technology, which transforms polyolefin-based post-consumer waste into high-performance polymers suitable for demanding applications in industries including automotive, energy, infrastructure, healthcare, appliances and consumer products.

​​Craig Arnold, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Circular Economy Solutions and Innovation & Technology: “This agreement is another tangible step forward on Borealis’ commitment to increasing the share of recycled content across a wide range of high-performance products. Our customers will be able to expand on the use of value-added, recycled plastics within their portfolios.”

​Volker Rehrmann, Executive Vice President and Head of TOMRA Recycling: “This agreement shows what’s possible when key players in the value chain come together to make a truly significant impact in the market. With our technology, we have the ability to recover post-consumer plastics that would have otherwise been lost to incineration. This is valuable material that should be given at least a second life. We look forward to working with OMV and Borealis in making a big contribution toward closing the circularity gap for plastics.”

​​OMV operates a ReOil® pilot plant in Schwechat, Austria, and a new ReOil® plant with a capacity of 16,000 metric tons per year is currently under construction at the same site. Like the existing pilot plant, the new plant will have International Sustainability and Carbon certification (ISCC PLUS). Further information can be found here: https://www.omv.com/en/recycling-technologies

​About OMV Aktiengesellschaft
​At OMV, we are re-inventing essentials for sustainable living. OMV is transitioning to become a leading sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials company with a focus on circular economy solutions, while operating today across three integrated business segments of Energy, Fuels & Feedstock, and Chemicals & Materials. By gradually switching over to low-carbon businesses, OMV is striving to achieve net zero by latest 2050. The company achieved revenues of EUR 39 billion in 2023 with a diverse and talented workforce of around 20,600 employees worldwide. OMV shares are traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange (OMV) and as American Depository Receipts (OMVKY) in the U.S. Further information at www.omv.com.

​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 polyolefin 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 a head office in Vienna, Austria, Borealis employs around 6,000 people. In 2023, we generated a net profit of EUR 216 million. OMV, the integrated energy, fuels & feedstock and chemicals & materials company 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’re building 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 | www.borealiseverminds.com

​About TOMRA
​TOMRA is a global leader in solutions for transforming how we obtain, use and reuse the planet’s resources. With an ultimate mission of realizing a world without waste, TOMRA develops systems for enabling the circular economy, specializing in resource collection, recovery and sorting for recycling and mining applications, and sensor-based food sorting and grading.

​Founded in 1972, TOMRA now has approximately 105,000 installations in over 100 markets worldwide and had total revenues of approximately 14.8 billion NOK in 2023. TOMRA’s geographic footprint covers all continents, providing novel solutions for businesses and communities to operate more profitably and sustainably. TOMRA is headquartered in Asker, Norway and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (TOM).

​To learn more about TOMRA, visit tomra.com and follow us on Facebook @TOMRAGroup, X @TOMRAGroup, Instagram @TOMRAGroup,, LinkedIn at TOMRA and on YouTube at TOMRA.

Media Contacts:

OMV International
Media Relations:
Tel. +43-1-40440
media.relations@omv.com

Borealis Group Media Desk:
Tel. +43 1 22400899
media@borealisgroup.com

TOMRA:
Mithu Mohren
Head of Group Brand, Communications and Marketing
Tel. +49-2630-9150-450
media@tomra.com

SOURCE: Borealis AG