Recycled tires will be part of future fuels
Discarded tires will now be used as raw material for fuel on a large scale. This follows an agreement between two members of the West Swedish Chemical and Material Cluster, Preem and Scandinavian Enviro Systems. Representatives from both companies highlight the cluster as an important arena for new collaborations.
— The West Swedish Chemical and Material Cluster and the project work within Climate-leading Process Industry have created an arena for meeting and developing shared ideas that ultimately can lead to the realization of new, sustainable value chains, says Fredrik Hellesöy, Senior Business Advisor, Preem.
In February this year, Preem announced in a press release an agreement with a joint venture company, formed by the Gothenburg-based company Scandinavian Enviro Systems (Enviro) and Antin Infrastructure Partners, which is the world's first large-scale tire recycling company. The agreement means that Preem will have access to over 7,000 tons of pyrolyzed tire oil per year between 2026 and 2034, thus contributing to the company's transition to a climate-neutral value chain.
The pyrolysis oil extracted from discarded tires has significant technical similarities to crude oil, making it potential to replace fossil crude oil for the production of sustainable fuels. The process is partly circular, as the raw material is a waste stream. Furthermore, the content is 50 percent renewable since tires are made half of natural rubber.
Both Preem and Enviro are active members of the West Swedish Chemical and Material Cluster and Climate-leading Process Industry initiative, which both companies highlight as an important platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange.
— Participating in the cluster's projects and events has been important and rewarding for us as a smaller company. There we get in touch with many of the larger companies such as Preem, and get great opportunities to understand potential customers' needs and requirements while testing our capabilities directly within a value chain, says Fredrik Olofsson, Sales Manager, Scandinavian Enviro Systems.
— The organizations collaborating in the West Swedish Chemical and Material Cluster are important partners in the transition that needs to happen to achieve fossil independence. Collaborations like this are precisely what the cluster's cooperation aims to achieve. We look forward to following this and many more success stories within the process and chemical industry in the future, says Hanna Paradis, process leader for Climate-leading Process Industry.
