Bolder Industries’ final permits cleared for Port of Antwerp

Antwerp, Belgium — Bolder Industries, Port of Antwerp-Bruges has received final permitting to build Bolder’s first European manufacturing facility, a commercial-scale recovered carbon black site in the NextGen District at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
The facility is co-funded by the European Union’s Innovation Fund — one of the world’s largest programs for demonstrating innovative low-carbon technologies, financed through EU Emissions Trading System revenues and managed by CINEA — and supported by equity investment from Tiger Infrastructure Partners. The Innovation Fund backs flagship initiatives that deliver significant greenhouse gas reductions across energy-intensive industries. This facility directly fulfills that mandate, demonstrating how industrial manufacturing can reduce emissions at scale by replacing fossil fuel-derived virgin carbon black with sustainable, mass-balanced, traceable alternatives.
This site will produce two ISCC PLUS-certified, mass-balanced and commercially proven products: BolderBlack®, a sustainable and traceable recovered carbon black validated in more than 3,000 commercial applications across tires, rubber goods, plastics, inks and coatings, and BolderOil®, an advanced pyrolysis oil serving as a low-carbon feedstock for fuels, industrial process applications and chemical production. Both products are already in active commercial use with Bolder’s North American customers.
The permit covers an 86,000-metric-ton design capacity site, to be built in two phases, producing BolderBlack and BolderOil through Bolder’s proprietary continuous thermal pyrolysis process, which recovers approximately 98% of each tire’s material content. Phase 1 will bring Bolder’s European location to 43,000 metric tons of annual design capacity, while creating more than 50 jobs in the Antwerp region. Phase 2 will expand to full capacity. No objections were filed during the required public consultation periods, reflecting strong community and stakeholder support.
At full operating capacity, the facility is designed to divert approximately 6 million end-of-life tires annually, reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85% compared to virgin carbon black production, and avoid approximately 606,000 metric tons of CO2e over its first decade.
“This permit is a key milestone for Bolder Industries, Port of Antwerp-Bruges,” said Tony Wibbeler, CEO of Bolder Industries. “It’s an important step in the disciplined development of our European platform and underscores our commitment to delivering BolderBlack® and BolderOil® to global customers.”
“The NextGen District was designed for exactly this kind of infrastructure — facilities that turn sustainability goals into operational reality,” said Rob Smeets, CEO, Port of Antwerp-Bruges. “Bolder Industries has demonstrated the technical credibility and partnership discipline required to bring a facility of this scale to construction. We are proud to support Antwerp’s role in Europe’s transition to circular raw material production.”
Bolder Industries worked with four Belgian partners — OSQB, United Experts, Antea Group and Cyclops — to navigate the full permitting process. Contractor selection is now advancing.
The Antwerp facility adds European manufacturing capacity to Bolder’s existing commercial operations in Maryville, Missouri, and Terre Haute, Indiana, advancing the company’s evolution into a multi-site circular materials platform serving global rubber, tire, plastics and industrial manufacturing markets.