Agreement for pyrolysis oil from chemical recycling of plastic waste

Under a multi-year agreement, RES will sell pyrolysis oil to Shell Chemicals Europe. The oil is produced at the chemical recycling plant for plastics waste that RES is currently building in Pettoranello del Molise (Isernia). The long-term agreement takes effect from June 2026 and is expected to generate over 20 million euros in additional annual revenue for RES. As part of the agreement, Shell Chemicals Europe commits to purchasing the entire pyrolysis oil output from the Pettoranello plant and, optionally, from a second facility that RES may construct in the future.

The chemical recycling plant currently under construction by RES is scheduled to be fully operational in the first half of 2026. Once at full capacity, it will employ around 20 people and will be capable of processing up to 20,000 tonnes of input material per year, with a projected output of 15,000 tonnes per year of pyrolysis oil. It will be the first plant of its kind in Italy in terms of size and production capacity. Through a thermochemical decomposition process, it will recover plastics waste that cannot be mechanically recycled waste that would otherwise be incinerated in waste-to-energy plants or cement factories or sent to landfill-transforming it into pyrolysis oil for the production of new plastics materials.

“This off-take agreement confirms the soundness of the strategic choices we have made in recent years to invest in pyrolysis technology. The investments made to build the new plant are now bearing fruit with the signing of this important partnership with a global player such as Shell. It marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration for both parties and represents a crucial step forward in promoting sustainable and innovative solutions in chemical recycling. It strengthens RES’s mission, making us the first company in the waste management sector in Italy-and one of the first in Europe-to take this innovative path of transforming post-consumer plastics into valuable resources for industry through highly advanced processes, thereby contributing to the circular economy,” said Antonio Lucio Valerio, CEO of RES.

“Shell is very pleased with this long-term agreement with RES, a company with extensive expertise in the waste and recycling market. Shell looks forward to working with RES to provide our customers with more circular chemical products, while advancing our commitment to building a robust circular value chain for plastics,” added Thijs Arlman, Global Head of Plastic Circularity at Shell.