Converting non-recyclable waste plastics into ultra-clean fuels and commodities to support green transport and circular plastics

Clean Planet Energy (CPE) and Andera Partners have today announced they have agreed to enter into a joint venture partnership to develop multiple waste plastics to circular ultra-clean fuel ecoPlants across France.

With the world deep in both climate and plastic crises, CPE ecoPlants provide an innovative solution to capturing thousands of tonnes of non-recyclable waste plastics per year (which would otherwise enter incineration or landfill, or be exported and potentially end up in our oceans), and converting this toxic waste into ultra-clean fuels and commodities to support green transport and circular plastics.

According to the industry association PlasticEurope, in 2018, the recycling rate for plastics reached 32.5% across the European Union, but France sits well below this, at just 24.2%. In addition, recent circular economy laws in France seek to reach a 100% circular economy for plastics by 2025, but there’s a significant way still to go.

Andera Partners is a major player in private equity investments in France and internationally. Its teams manage over €2.8 billion in investments in life sciences, growth, and buyout capital, sponsorless transactions and now energy transition. The investment into Clean Planet’s operations across France marks Andera’s first investment into the clean fuel space.

“Supporting Clean Planet Energy’s deployment in France contributes to solving both mobility and plastic environmental issues,” comments Prune des Roches, a partner at Andera’s Smart Infra fund.

Clean Planet Energy are already in construction with ecoPlants in the UK, and this latest announcement seeks to grow their green footprint.

“Our partnership with Andera Partners supports our vision for clean oceans and clean air. Collaborating with a like-minded group such as Andera Partners enables Clean Planet to enhance the delivery of our mission of removing over one million tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste from our environment every year,” comments Bertie Stephens, Clean Planet Energy’s CEO.

“In France, we will be developing ecoPlants that each convert over 20,000 tonnes of plastic a year into ultra-clean circular fuels. Each barrel of fuel will prevent around 400 kg of CO2e emissions entering our atmosphere. Compared to fossil fuels, that’s over a 75% reduction. Together, these ultra-clean circular fuels will be used in industries within the marine, aviation, petrochemical and refining sectors, where green alternatives (such as electricity) simply do not exist. It’s an immediate solution to the climate catastrophe, powered by removing waste plastics from the land.”

In addition to clean fuels, a Clean Planet ecoPlant can also produce green naphtha, an essential feedstock for creating a circular economy in recycled plastics.