Birla Carbon partners on sustainability with Circtec

Mumbai, India – Circtec, a specialist in pyrolysis technology and the production of renewable fuels from end-of-life tires, and Birla Carbon, a global carbon black supplier, signed a long-term supply agreement for sustainable carbonaceous materials, creating the largest sustainability footprint in the carbon black industry. Through its technical expertise, customized solutions and global presence, Birla Carbon will take this sustainability solution to its customers around the world. This is consistent with Birla Carbon’s leadership position in sustainability and innovation over the last decade.

Over more than a decade, Circtec has developed its proprietary production processes to commercial scale; and now to support this landmark circular economy partnership, Circtec is setting up a flagship production plant in The Netherlands. This will be the largest, most sustainable and most efficient pyrolysis plant in Europe, and is expected to go into production by the end of 2022. While putting millions of tires through the pyrolysis recycling process, the Circtec plant will have a total annual production capacity of 73,000 metric tons of sustainable carbonaceous materials in the next five years. This plant will be the largest single source of sustainable carbonaceous materials and also of product-grade renewable fuels from the pyrolysis of end-of-life tires.

Commenting on the association, Dr. Santrupt B. Misra, chief executive officer, Birla Carbon, said, “Our commitment to sustainability over the last decade has seen Birla Carbon bring more and more innovation focused solutions to our customers. This partnership with Circtec is a big step towards product circularity in our value chain and bringing our customers’ sustainability aspirations closer to reality.” He further added, “Through our collaboration with Circtec, we will become the largest suppliers of sustainable carbonaceous materials in the world, weaving together technology expertise and customized solutions.”

A life cycle assessment (LCA) of Circtec’s process, conducted according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, demonstrates that, at full capacity, 228,000 metric tons of direct and indirect CO₂ emissions will be eliminated on an annual basis when compared to the conventional carbon black process.

Commenting on the partnership with Birla Carbon, Allen Timpany, co-founder and CEO of Circtec, shared, “Our long-term alliance with Birla Carbon is instrumental to our objective to build a leading global business in the low-carbon circular economy.”

Robert Harper, co-founder and deputy CEO said, “We look forward to working on our partnered mission of creating a more circular world using our leadership in innovation and technology to create sustainable products from end-of-life tires.”

Pieter Ter Haar, Circtec’s director of research and development, said, “The combination of Birla Carbon and Circtec gives a leading edge in the development of circular product technology for the carbon black industry.”