Versalis unveils mixed plastic waste recycling plant in Italy

Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has inaugurated a demonstration plant at its Mantua site in Italy, showcasing Hoop, a proprietary technology for the chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste.

Developed in collaboration with Italian engineering firm SRS (Servizi di Ricerche e Sviluppo), Hoop enables the transformation of mixed plastic waste into feedstock for the production of new plastics, including those used in food and pharmaceutical packaging.

Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis, says: “We are giving further substance and value to circularity, one of the pillars of Versalis’s transformation plan. The Hoop plant we are opening is a symbol of the path we are following — harnessing innovation to reshape our business through new industrial initiatives based on circularity, biochemistry, and specialization, in pursuit of increased sustainability. We are committed to addressing all three of sustainability core dimensions: environmental, social and economic.”

The innovation combines a pyrolysis reactor with Versalis’s expertise in polymer chemistry and AI-optimized production processes, resulting in high material recovery yields and flexibility in terms of input materials.

The plant is 5,000 square meters in size and has the capacity to process 6,600 tons of secondary raw materials annually.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding on the Eni-Versalis Chemical Transformation Plan signed last March with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, a 44,000-ton-per-year plant is planned for Priolo, Italy. 

The Mantua project is Italy’s only large-scale initiative to receive funding under the 2023 EU Innovation Fund, which supports low-carbon technologies.