BlueAlp wins €21M EU grant to build Dutch pyrolysis plant
What's the deal? Dutch chemical recycling firm BlueAlp has been selected to receive a €21 million ($23.5 million) grant from the EU Innovation FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The money will support a new 49,000-tonne-a-year pyrolysis unit and a pyrolysis oil (PPO) upgrader in Kampen, Netherlands.
What does it do? BlueAlp converts low-grade waste plastics into feedstock that can replace fossil naphtha in steam crackers. The Kampen upgrader will purify that oil on-site, which chief executive Valentijn De Neve said cuts costs versus stand-alone upgrading.
The grant covers roughly a fifth of the €100 million project. De Neve told Argus the rest of the capital is "by and large secured." Shell, once a joint-venture partner, remains a shareholder, technology partner, and PPO off-taker after BlueAlp took control to expand into building and operating plants.
Why now? BlueAlp is planning capacity for late this decade, when EU recycled-content rules for non-PET packaging are set to lift demand. That timing has helped it secure off-take agreements.
What's next? The company is also adding a 24,500-tonne-a-year reactor at its Oostende site in Belgium, targeting mid-2028. A final investment decision on Kampen follows further preparation, with construction due in early 2028 and start-up in 2029.
What could go wrong? The grant still needs a formal agreement, which BlueAlp expects to take three to four months. Both projects remain subject to final investment decisions, and Kampen is not expected to run until 2029.
The signal: The EU Innovation Fund picked 77 projects from 358 applicants, making the award a notable de-risking step for European chemical recycling. But the sector is still moving from announcements to execution — a rival's first plant is only nearing commissioning, and two Danish projects were abandoned.
Read more: polyestertime.com
Image credit: Blue Alp
