• Bilfinger leads EPCm services for Europe’s largest end-of-life tire pyrolysis recycling plant
• Seamless integration of unique Circtec technology for optimal efficiency
• End-of-life tires transformed into valuable chemicals and biofuels, creating annual CO₂ emissions savings equivalent to ca. 3% of the emissions from the chemical industry of the Netherlands

Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Bilfinger has been awarded comprehensive Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCm) services for a groundbreaking tire recycling facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, by UK-based technology company Circtec. Utilizing Circtec’s proprietary technology, their first commercial-scale plant will transform end-of-life tires into valuable resources, such as chemicals and biofuels, through pyrolysis. This method not only diverts waste from incineration and export out of Europe but also produces high-quality recycled materials and renewable fuels.

Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) Belgium/Netherlands has been entrusted with finalizing and implementing the facility’s design while seamlessly integrating Circtec’s technology into the whole plant architecture. The industrial services provider’s long-standing experience as an independent system integrator, especially in energy transition contexts, coupled with decades of expertise in the gas and chemicals industries, ensures the highest standards of performance and energy efficiency for the plant. Based on this experience, Bilfinger furthermore provides Circtec with in-house consulting in, for example, safety and regulatory compliance aspects throughout all stages of the implementation. Offering both integrated consulting services and all the necessary engineering services from a single source, Bilfinger ensures the highest efficiency for the customer.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Circtec to scale out their operations by turning their plant design into a first-class facility. Our expertise in engineering and system integration will ensure this landmark plant operates at peak efficiency, contributing significantly to the sustainability and resource conservation in the Netherlands and across Europe,” says Kevin Pieterse, Vice President of Engineering at Bilfinger E&M BeNe.

The Delfzijl plant will operate on a closed-loop system, powered by the gases produced during the recycling process. End-of-life tires, destined for incineration and export for disposal overseas, will be converted into rubber chips and processed through Circtec’s proprietary CIFR^TM pyrolysis system – a process that thermally decomposes waste in an oxygen-free environment, extracting hydrocarbon liquids, gases, and solid char. Post-pyrolysis, the outputs are separated; gases and liquids are cooled, condensed, and refined into Circtec’s HUPA^TM – a sustainable marine fuel – and circular naphtha, which can be used as recycled petrochemical feedstock in eco-friendly plastics and chemical production. Additionally, the solid char is purified and processed into recovered carbon black for reuse in the production of plastics and rubber products, completing the recycling loop.

“Circtec selected Bilfinger as their EPCm partner carefully, because of Bilfinger’s sectoral expertise in industrial projects in the circular economy and renewable energy spaces, and their commitment to delivering well-run projects within agreed timescales,“ says Allen Timpany, CEO of Circtec.

Upon completion, the Delfzijl facility will be Europe’s largest of its kind, with a capacity to process 200,000 tons of waste tires annually. This capacity represents approximately 5% of the 3.6 million tons of end-of-life tires generated in Europe each year, creating CO₂ emissions savings through displacement of fossil fuel use equivalent to circa 3% of the emissions from the entire chemical industry sector of the Netherlands.