// Table of contents
Chemical recycling (CR) has been the polymer industry’s biggest promise for a decade — plastics hard to recycle mechanically (multilayer films, blends, PS, PVC, soiled PE) were to find a path back via depolymerisation to monomers. Until 2020, promises were richer than results. 2026 brings the first generation of commercially operating plants in Europe — and a reality check on which technologies actually scale.
Three technology routes
Pyrolysis (heat-driven solvolysis)
Plastics are heated to 400–800 °C in an oxygen-free atmosphere and thermally break down into pyrolysis oil (a hydrocarbon mix). After further processing in petrochemistry, this replaces naphtha as steam-cracker feedstock. Use cases: PE/PP films, rubber residues, mixed plastics.
Commercial plants: Sabic Geleen (NL, 50 000 t/year, online 2024), BASF ChemCycling Schwarzheide (DE, 80 000 t/year, online 2025), OMV ReOil Vienna (AT, 200 000 t/year — largest, online Q1 2026).
Pilots: OMV Schwechat, Neste Porvoo, Ineos Cologne, Borealis Stenungsund.
Glycolysis (PET depolymerisation to BHET)
PET reacts with ethylene glycol at 180–220 °C and breaks down to bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (BHET) — a monomer from which PET of any quality (including food-grade) can be re-polymerised.
Plants: Ioniqa Rotterdam (NL, 10 000 t/year), Loop Industries / Suez (pilot near Saint-Avold, FR, 15 000 t/year), Plastic Energy (Seville, ES, 25 000 t/year). Notable pilot: Carbios (Clermont-Ferrand, FR — enzymatic glycolysis, the most innovative in the region).
Methanolysis (PET to DMT)
PET reacts with methanol, decomposing into dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and ethylene glycol. Capital-heaviest technology, but exceptionally pure product — handles the hardest streams (pigmented, multilayer).
Sole commercial European plant: Plastic Energy Rotterdam (25 000 t/year, online Q4 2025). Eastman (Kingsport, USA) is building a sister plant in Kuhlungsborn (DE) — start planned Q2 2027.
The numbers
| Type | Commercial | Pilots | Total capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyrolysis | 3 | 4 | ~330 000 t/year |
| Glycolysis | 3 | 2 | ~50 000 t/year |
| Methanolysis | 1 | 1 | ~25 000 t/year |
| Total | 7 | 7 | ~405 000 t/year |
405 000 t/year sounds impressive — but against total EU polymer production (55 Mt/year) it is less than 1%. Mechanical PET recycling in the EU alone is ~1.8 Mt/year — roughly 5× the chemical total.
Where CR works well, and where it doesn’t
Works for:
- Non-municipal mixed plastics (industrial, automotive ELV, WEEE) — pyrolysis has its best economics here
- Pigmented PET (green, brown bottles) — glycolysis and methanolysis produce a colourless monomer
- Multilayer PET bottles with EVOH barrier — methanolysis
Does not (yet) work for:
- Clean DRS PET bottles — mechanical recycling has 30–40% lower cost and better energy balance
- PET textiles (the next ambitious category) — technically feasible, but home-collection of textiles is not yet at scale
- Small volumes — CR needs 50 000+ t/year to make economic sense; local or specialty streams remain uneconomic
The mass balance paradox
CR’s biggest problem in 2026 is the mass balance paradox. A pilot plant produces e.g. 5 000 t of pyrolysis oil, which is fed into a refinery with billions of litres of naphtha. On paper that 5 000 t can be allocated to producing e.g. 4 500 t of “recycled content” polymer — and the brand prints “made with 30% recycled content” on the wrapper. As covered in our ISCC PLUS v4.2 piece, this accounting allocation will be severely constrained from Q4 2026 onwards. For CR this means real physical segregation is required — undermining the economics of integrating pyrolysis oil with existing steam crackers.
Investment ranking 2026
Wood Mackenzie analysts rank the 2026 investment risk profile:
- PET methanolysis → DMT (highest risk, highest potential) — capex EUR 300–450 m per plant, but product is vPET food-grade quality
- Enzymatic glycolysis (Carbios) (medium risk, high innovation pace) — lower capex, but low technological maturity
- PE/PP pyrolysis (lowest risk, low margin) — mature technology, but still tied to petrochemistry integration and energy costs
Outlook to 2030
By 2030 European CR capacity should reach 1.2–1.8 Mt/year — about 3× today’s level. Still complementary to, not a substitute for, mechanical recycling. The split will be natural:
- Mechanical — clean streams, DRS, sortable (PET, HDPE, PP)
- Chemical — hard streams, mixed, pigmented, multilayer
For FMCG brands the practical takeaway: in 2026 CR is not yet an alternative to mechanical rPET. But from 2028 onwards it will be a portfolio element, especially for packaging that today simply cannot be recycled.