PureCycle Selected as NextGen District
Concessionaire in Competitive Bid Process
ORLANDO,
Fla., Jan. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
PureCycle Technologies, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PCT) and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges today announced
that PureCycle intends to build its first polypropylene (PP)
recycling facility in Europe in
the port's fast-growing NextGen District located in Belgium. The new plant is expected to have an
annual capacity of 59,000 metric tons (130 million pounds), with
opportunities to expand operations in the future since the
14-hectare plot can support up to four processing lines with an
anticipated total capacity of approximately 240,000 metric tons
(500 million pounds) per year (in total for all four processing
lines). PureCycle is currently engaged in feedstock sourcing and
financial planning with the intent to secure a final project
timeline by mid-2023. Construction of the plant is expected to
begin upon completion of the permitting process, which is currently
anticipated in 2024.
NextGen District is a global hub for businesses seeking to
advance the circular economy. The district is located at the Port
of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe's second
largest seaport. PureCycle was recently awarded a concessionaire
contract during NextGen's competitive bid selection process.
PureCycle Vice President of European Operations, Wiebe Schipper, commented, "The announcement
of our first location in Europe
marks the next phase in executing PureCycle's global growth
strategy. We are excited to bring our Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR)
resin to customers in Europe,
where companies and policies are at the forefront of the circular
economy. Being in the NextGen District will enable us to capitalize
on existing efficiencies, collaborate with other innovators in the
space and forge new partnerships." He added, "We want to thank the
Port of Antwerp-Bruges for believing in our mission and for
providing the support necessary to get this project off the ground.
Our team at PureCycle looks forward to creating a more sustainable
future together."
Port of Antwerp-Bruges CEO, Jacques
Vandermeiren, said, "The Port of Antwerp-Bruges' NextGen
District is committed to creating an innovation hotspot where
companies dedicated to building a circular economy and developing
sustainable solutions to some of the world's toughest climate and
environmental challenges can thrive. We're thrilled to be
partnering with PureCycle on this strategic project to help bring
that vision to life."
PureCycle is already in active negotiations with potential
feedstock and offtake partners and expects to commence commercial
operations at its new European facility when construction of the
first processing line is completed. The new polypropylene
purification plant will not only supply the European market with
PureCycle's UPR resin but is also expected to create 65-70 new jobs
for local residents during the initial phase of the project. This
project represents one of the largest investments announced in the
NextGen District to date. Various funding options are currently
being considered, including traditional financing sources as well
as grants/subsidies for circular projects that are uniquely
available in the EU.
Minister-President of Flanders, Jan
Jambon, remarked, "PureCycle selected Flanders as the
preferred location within the EU for the construction of its first
European recycling plant. This confirms that Flanders is among the
world leaders in waste collection and processing and strengthens
our position even more firmly as a leading recycling hub.
PureCycle's purification technology is a game changer within the
circular economy and will have a major impact on making plastics -
and pre-eminently the chemical cluster around the Port of
Antwerp-Bruges - even more sustainable. As a region that pioneers
in circular innovation, we are extremely proud to welcome this new
ecosystem-strengthening partner in Flanders. Export and investment
promotion agency Flanders Investment & Trade played a leading
role in this investment dossier through teams in the US and in
Flanders. FIT also supports PureCycle in the start-up and
development of their site and their anchoring in Flanders."
With the company's flagship recycling plant in Ironton, Ohio expected to start pellet
production in Q1 of 2023; a second plant in Augusta, Georgia under initial construction;
and its first PP recycling plant in Asia currently on track to open in 2025,
PureCycle is expanding globally and actively scaling its production
capabilities.
PureCycle Contact
Christian
Bruey
cbruey@purecycle.com
+1 (352) 745-6120
Port of Antwerp-Bruges
Contact
press@portofantwerpbruges.com
+32 492 15 41 39
About Port of
Antwerp-Bruges
With an overall throughput of 289 million tonnes per year, Port
of Antwerp-Bruges is a critical hub in worldwide trade and
industry. The port is a crucial link for the handling of
containers, breakbulk and for the throughput of vehicles. Port of
Antwerp-Bruges is home to 1,400 companies and accommodates the
largest integrated chemical cluster in Europe. The port provides, directly and
indirectly, a total of around 164,000 jobs and generates an added
value of 21 billion euros.
www.portofantwerpbruges.com
About PureCycle
Technologies
PureCycle Technologies LLC., a subsidiary of PureCycle
Technologies, Inc., holds a global license for the only patented
solvent-driven purification recycling technology, developed by The
Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), that is designed to
transform polypropylene plastic waste (designated as No. 5 plastic)
into a continuously renewable resource. The unique purification
process removes color, odor, and other impurities from No. 5
plastic waste resulting in an ultra-pure recycled (UPR) resin that
can be recycled and reused multiple times, changing our
relationship with plastic.
www.purecycle.com
Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including statements about the financial condition, results of
operations, earnings outlook and prospects of PureCycle. In
addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or
other characterizations of future events or circumstances,
including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking
statements.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words
such as "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend,"
"outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "continue," "could,"
"may," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict," "should,"
"would" and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of
these words does not mean that a statement is not
forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the current
expectations of the management of PureCycle and are inherently
subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their
potential effects and speak only as of the date of this press
release. There can be no assurance that future developments will be
those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that
may cause actual results or performance to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, those factors described in the section of PureCycle's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 entitled "Risk Factors," those
discussed and identified in public filings made with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") by PureCycle and
the following:
- PureCycle's ability to meet, and to continue to meet,
applicable regulatory requirements for the use of PureCycle's UPR
resin in food grade applications (both in the United States, Europe and internationally);
- PureCycle's ability to comply on an ongoing basis with
the numerous regulatory requirements applicable to the UPR resin
and PureCycle's facilities (both in the
United States, Europe and
internationally);
- expectations and changes regarding PureCycle's strategies
and future financial performance, including its future business
plans, expansion plans or objectives, prospective performance and
opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services,
pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows
and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and PureCycle's ability to
invest in growth initiatives;
- PureCycle's ability to scale and build its first
commercial-scale recycling facility in Lawrence County, Ohio (the "Ironton Facility")
in a timely and cost-effective manner;
- PureCycle's ability to complete the necessary funding
with respect to, and complete the construction of, its first U.S.
multi-site facility located in Augusta,
Georgia (the "Augusta Facility"), in a timely and
cost-effective manner;
- PureCycle's ability to sort and process polypropylene
plastic waste at its plastic waste prep ("Feed PreP")
facilities;
- PureCycle's ability to maintain exclusivity under the
Procter & Gamble Company license;
- the implementation, market acceptance and success of
PureCycle's business model and growth strategy;
- the success or profitability of PureCycle's offtake
arrangements;
- the ability to source feedstock with a high polypropylene
content;
- PureCycle's future capital requirements and sources and
uses of cash;
- PureCycle's ability to obtain funding for its operations
and future growth;
- developments and projections relating to PureCycle's
competitors and industry;
- the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings to
which PureCycle is, or may become, a party including the securities
class action case;
- geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or
regulations;
- the possibility that PureCycle may be adversely affected
by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors, including
rising interest rates;
- turnover or increases in employees and employee-related
costs;
- changes in the prices and availability of labor
(including labor shortages), transportation and materials,
including significant inflation, supply chain conditions and its
related impact on energy and raw materials, and PureCycle's ability
to obtain them in a timely and cost-effective manner;
- any business disruptions due to political or economic
instability, pandemics, armed hostilities (including the ongoing
conflict between Russia and
Ukraine);
- the potential impact of climate change on the company,
including physical and transition risks, higher regulatory and
compliance costs, reputational risks, and availability of capital
on attractive terms;
- operational risk; and
- the risk that the COVID-19 pandemic ("COVID-19"),
including any new and emerging variants and the efficacy and
distribution of vaccines may have an adverse effect on PureCycle's
business operations, as well as PureCycle's financial condition and
results of operations.
Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by
the management of PureCycle prove incorrect, actual results may
vary in material respects from those projected in these
forward-looking statements.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements
or other matters attributable to PureCycle or any person acting on
their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
cautionary statements contained or referred to in this press
release. Except to the extent required by applicable law or
regulation, PureCycle undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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SOURCE PureCycle Technologies