Plastic Energy and TotalEnergies launch advanced recycling plant in France, converting difficult plastic waste into circular feedstock for high-quality applications.
The collaboration between Plastic Energy and TotalEnergies has reached a significant milestone with the commissioning of their advanced plastics recycling facility at the Grandpuits complex near Paris. This project, formally known as TotalEnergies Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling (TEPEAR), represents a key step in transforming the site into a zero-crude platform while reinforcing Europe’s transition toward a circular plastics economy.
The newly operational plant is designed to process approximately 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually, focusing specifically on materials that are traditionally considered difficult or uneconomical to recycle through conventional mechanical methods. By leveraging Plastic Energy’s patented TAC™ technology, the facility converts end-of-life plastics—often destined for landfill or incineration—into a valuable recycled feedstock known as TACOIL™. Earlier this year, the successful production of the first batch of this recycled oil confirmed the plant’s technical readiness, and it is now fully operational.
TACOIL™ serves as a sustainable alternative to fossil-based raw materials and is further refined at TotalEnergies’ petrochemical facilities. This integration enables the production of high-performance plastics that meet stringent quality standards required for sensitive applications such as food-grade packaging, medical materials, and other advanced uses. The seamless incorporation of recycled feedstock into existing petrochemical processes highlights the scalability and industrial viability of advanced recycling technologies.
Executives from both companies emphasized the importance of this achievement. Ian Temperton, CEO of Plastic Energy, described the start-up as a major milestone for the advanced recycling sector in Europe. He underscored the reliability of the company’s proprietary technology and praised the collaborative effort with TotalEnergies in delivering a scalable and sustainable solution for managing plastic waste. Similarly, Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President at TotalEnergies, highlighted the plant as a cornerstone in the company’s broader strategy to convert the Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex. She also acknowledged the contributions of partners such as Citeo and Paprec in supporting the development of a domestic advanced recycling ecosystem in France.
The technology deployed at Grandpuits is not experimental; it has already been successfully demonstrated at commercial facilities operated by Plastic Energy in Spain. Its design allows direct integration into existing petrochemical infrastructures, making it a practical solution for large-scale adoption across the industry. This is particularly critical in Europe, where less than 30% of the approximately 32 million tonnes of plastic waste generated annually is currently recycled.
By converting hard-to-recycle plastics into high-quality raw materials, advanced recycling offers a promising pathway to improve recycling rates and reduce dependence on virgin fossil resources. Moreover, it supports compliance with evolving European regulations, including the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which aims to promote circularity and sustainability in plastic usage. The Grandpuits initiative thus stands as a strong example of how industry collaboration and technological innovation can drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable plastics value chain.
