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16 June 2021
Mura Technology and KBR are pleased today to announce the first licence agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, a core company of the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (MCHC) Group, to deploy the HydroPRS™ process in Japan to help keep plastic waste out of the environment and create a new circular plastics economy.
MCC has conducted a detailed study into the feasibility of Mura’s HydroPRS™ (Hydrothermal Plastic Recycling Solution) process, which has concluded in this first licence. Mura’s global licensing partner, KBR, have provided engineering support on the project feasibility with MCC.
Although Japan currently recycles 84% of its plastic waste1, the majority of this is combusted to create energy from waste and is not reprocessed back into the plastics supply chain2. Mura’s advanced recycling process offers a deliverable solution for Japan to meet its 2030 goal of reducing disposable plastic waste by 25%.
With Mura’s process there is no anticipated limit to the number of times the same material can be recycled – meaning it has the potential to significantly reduce plastics being used once and make the raw ingredients for a circular plastics economy. In addition, advanced recycling processes are expected to save approximately 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of plastic recycled, compared to incineration of unrecycled plastics3.
The agreement with MCC, Mura’s first international licence, is the latest milestone in the company’s rapid global rollout that will see one million tonnes of advanced recycling annual capacity in operation or development worldwide by 2025. It is the first agreement signed as part of Mura’s partnership with KBR, announced earlier this year, and comes less than two months after Mura announced a partnership with Dow Chemicals, the global leader in materials science.
The deal forms a blueprint for other Asian countries to follow. Additional sites are also planned in the U.S. and Germany. The world’s first plant using Mura’s innovative solution is in development in Teesside, UK, with plans to place 20,000 tonnes of recycled hydrocarbon products onto the market annually expected to be operational in 2024. Mura is continuing to raise funds to drive further expansion and is in discussions with a range of global investors.
Mitsubishi Chemical, as a core operating company of the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group, seeks to provide solutions to environmental and social issues and to contribute to the sustainable development of people, society and the Earth through its businesses built on a foundation of chemistry. In this way, we aim to realize KAITEKI- a condition that contributes to sustainable development that is optimal for people, society, and the Earth.
Visit https://www.m-chemical.co.jp/en/
1. Statista (2021)
2. Statista (2021)
3. Independent analysis by CE Delft, the independent research and consultancy organisation specialised in developing innovative solutions to environmental problems (2020)