News from Notch Consulting, Inc.

Recovered carbon black producer Pyrolyx A.G. is progressing with plans for a second plant in the U.S., to be built adjacent to one under construction in Terre Haute, Indiana. Pyrolyx is also in the process of moving its headquarters from Munich to Terre Haute. Construction on the plant is expected to start in the third quarter.

The plant under construction has a rated annual capacity of nearly 13,000 metric tons of recovered carbon black, which translates to about 4 million tires recycled a year.

The company has raised $2.3 million from the sale of equity capital in Pyrolyx A.G. and has access to a $4.5 million loan facility from Pyrolyx USA Inc. for funding.

Pyrolyx recently disclosed a non-binding five-year agreement to supply up to 15,000 tons of rCB a year to tire maker Continental A.G. from its plants in Stegelitz, Germany, and Terre Haute.

Here’s the press release.

Clean tech company Black Bear has entered into a strategic partnership with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm MMEC Mannesmann (MMEC) to accelerate the roll-out of its breakthrough technology to produce recovered Carbon Black (rCB) from end-of-life tires.

“To meet the growing demand for rCB and receive a substantial impact to meet the waste tire problem, we need to roll-out our proven technology,” explained Joost Raimond, Construction Director at Black Bear.

“Being in the EPC industry for many years, I know that the partnership with MMEC is a game-changer in our time-to-market as we now can offer real turn-key plant realization to clients who want to use our technology.”

The rCB is Cradle-to-CradleTM certified and is already used by major clients, including AkzoNobel.

The initial focus will be on already identified sites together with partners inside Europe. Given MMEC’s strong presence in the Middle East, this region will also see Black Bear facilities emerging in the future.

Read the full press release here.

The Danish company Elysium Nordic is building its first pyrolysis plant in Nyborg, Denmark, and it will be operational by 2021. The plant will be able to recover more than 9,000 tons of carbon black from 30,000 tons of ELT.

“We want to help create a more circular and thus far more sustainable and economically sound approach to the management of waste tires. With this facility we have taken the first step,” says Jens Elton Andersen, CEO of WindSpace, the team behind Elysium Nordic.

Read the full press release here (original in Danish).

Recovered carbon black manufacturer Scandinavian Enviro Systems A.B. has its sights set on North America, a region where it sees great potential for growth as it moves forward with joint venture initiatives.

With joint venture projects with EE TDF Cleveland L.L.C of Cleveland, Texas, and Treadcraft Ltd., near Buffalo, N.Y., progressing as planned, Enviro is seeking a third U.S.-based opportunity in Maryland.

In Canada, Enviro has signed a memorandum of understanding with Regina, Saskatchewan-based ArticCan Energy Services Inc.

The Swedish recycling company believes there is more room for growth in both countries.

“There are several reasons why we are more active than ever in North America. The market’s need for carbon black is expected to increase as the establishment of virgin production is becoming increasingly difficult due to stricter regulations and penalties, implemented to overcome the environmental problems created by the existing carbon black production”, says Thomas Sörensson.

Read the full press release here.

Smithers Rapra along with Wolfersdorff Consulting have announced a new conference, the Recovered Carbon Black Congress, to be held May 21-22, 2019 in Berlin. The new conference is an extension of Smithers Rapra’s successful Carbon Black World conference, which is held every other year (most recently in Dusseldorf, Germany in September 2018). The Recovered Carbon Black Congress will address the commercial challenges and long-term potential for recovered carbon black, which is material recovered from scrap tires.  The  conference will include a range of technical discussions to provide a platform for the recovered carbon black supply chain to identify the challenges and solutions to drive forward this process. Notch Consulting will be delivering a paper during this conference covering the long-term commercial prospects for rCB.

Dutch cleantech company Black Bear Carbon B.V. has raised $5.7 million from venture capital firms Capricorn Venture Partners and Particon. This funding, combined with the money it raised in early September, will support advancements in its recovered carbon black (rCB) technology as well as the global roll-out of its “cradle-to-cradle” system.

Black Bear has developed a “tire to carbon black” technology with a unique carbonization process to produce rCB from end-of-life tires.

Capricorn Venture Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European technology companies. It is based in Leuven, Belgium.

Particon is an independent venture capital firm in Limburg, Netherlands.

Read the full press release here.