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Who buys pyrolysis oil in Europe

Every week someone asks us who actually buys this. Here is the honest map of European capacity, drawn from what these companies have published themselves.

Read this first: this is a market map built from public sources, not a client list. Naming a company here says nothing about whether we work with them, and we do not claim to represent any of them. This is a market map, built from what each company has published about its own activity, because "who actually buys pyrolysis oil" is the question we are asked most and there is no honest public answer to it. Knowing who has capacity tells you what specification the market wants, and that is worth more than a list of phone numbers.

The petrochemical route: pyrolysis oil into new polymer

These are companies that feed pyrolysis oil into a cracker or a production network to make certified circular polymer. This is where the premium sits, and it is why chlorine and ISCC PLUS matter so much: see plastic pyrolysis oil.

  • BASF runs ChemCycling, feeding pyrolysis oil into its Verbund production network at the start of the value chain. It has worked with technology partners specialising in mixed plastic waste pyrolysis and in end-of-life tyre pyrolysis, and invested in a pyrolysis oil purification specialist in Norway. Notably, BASF is one of the few that has taken both plastic-derived and tyre-derived oil.
  • SABIC uses pyrolysis oil to produce certified circular polymer under its TRUCIRCLE portfolio, including polypropylene that has gone into consumer products.
  • LyondellBasell is building an industrial-scale advanced recycling demonstration plant at Wesseling, Germany, using its MoReTec technology to convert polyolefin waste into pyrolysis oil and gas. The project was selected for a EUR 40 million EU Innovation Fund grant.
  • Dow has an agreement to be supplied with pyrolysis oil from recycled plastic waste at its site in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, used as feedstock for polymer production.

The refining route: upgrading and co-processing

What this tells you as a producer is more useful than the names. Capacity is being built for difficult feed, not easy feed, which means the bottleneck is not volume, it is whether your oil is clean enough and consistent enough to run. Chlorine and silicon decide that. See pyrolysis oil.

  • Neste commissioned an upgrading facility for liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland, with capacity for up to 150,000 tonnes a year and an investment of roughly EUR 111 million. It was built specifically for difficult streams: multi-layer packaging, mixed and contaminated plastics. Neste has processed liquefied waste plastic since 2020.
  • TotalEnergies has processed pyrolysis oil at its Antwerp petrochemical platform since 2020, and started up France's first advanced plastics recycling plant at Grandpuits in March 2026 at around 15,000 tonnes a year.

Beyond Europe, because the question rarely stops at the border

Producers ask us about Europe first and then immediately about everywhere else, so it is worth naming the largest player. Again: publicly reported activity, drawn from public sources.

  • ExxonMobil runs advanced recycling under its Exxtend technology and is the biggest single name in the field by capacity. Its operation at Baytown, Texas has expanded in stages, with a third unit taking capacity to roughly 250 million pounds of plastic waste a year, about 113,000 tonnes, and the company has said it is on track for around 450 million pounds annually across its global sites by the end of 2026, roughly 204,000 tonnes. The output feeds certified circular polymers.
  • Asia matters more than European producers assume. ExxonMobil has publicly described pyrolysis oil produced at Baytown being converted into raw materials at its chemical plant in Singapore, and has had Southeast Asian recycling projects in the 2025 to 2026 window. For a producer in Asia or Latin America, freight to Asia can beat freight to Rotterdam.
  • The specification does not get easier abroad. If anything the qualifying specifications quoted by major buyers outside Europe are tighter, not looser, and the qualification process is longer. Distance does not rescue a cargo that cannot pass in Europe.

The other outlets people forget

  • Carbon black producers, for tyre-derived heavy fraction. The aromatic content that rules the oil out of a cracker is exactly what they want: see tyre pyrolysis oil.
  • Refiners co-processing at low ratio into conventional streams, which is a different conversation from a dedicated unit: see co-processed fuels.
  • Fuel blenders and industrial users for material that will not reach petrochemical specification. Lower value, but real and immediate.
  • Traders and physical intermediaries who aggregate small parcels into cargo-sized lots. Useful when your volume is below what a major will look at.

How to actually approach any of them

Not with an email saying you have pyrolysis oil. Every one of these companies receives those weekly and ignores them.

If you are not sure who to approach, start with who buys pyrolysis oil in Europe, which sets out the companies that actually have capacity and what each one is known to take.

What gets read is a complete pack: feedstock, process, country of origin, monthly tonnage and annual capacity, storage and loading, certification status, a dated laboratory assay with chlorine and silicon on it, and evidence that two or three batches look alike. The full route is set out on how to sell pyrolysis oil in Europe.

And be realistic about scale. A demonstration plant taking 15,000 tonnes a year is not going to build a process around 200 tonnes a month unless somebody aggregates it first. That aggregation is one of the things a broker is actually for.

A note on accuracy

Everything above comes from what these companies have published about their own activity, and capacity announcements move: plants get delayed, projects get cancelled, and offtake arrangements are rarely public. Treat this as orientation and verify anything you are about to act on.

We name no client of ours anywhere on this site, and we do not claim to represent any company listed here. Read this page as orientation on where capacity exists, nothing more. If a broker tells you they can sell your cargo to a named major, ask them to be precise about what that means before you believe it.

Frequently asked questions

Does ExxonMobil buy pyrolysis oil?

ExxonMobil operates advanced recycling under its Exxtend technology and is the largest single name in the field by announced capacity. Its Baytown, Texas operation has grown in stages to roughly 250 million pounds of plastic waste a year, about 113,000 tonnes, and the company has said it is targeting around 450 million pounds annually across its global sites by the end of 2026. It has also described pyrolysis oil from Baytown being converted at its chemical plant in Singapore. That is publicly reported activity, not a statement about who they buy from. We name no client of ours anywhere on this site.

Who buys pyrolysis oil in Europe?

For the petrochemical route: BASF through its ChemCycling programme, SABIC for TRUCIRCLE circular polymer, LyondellBasell with its MoReTec plant at Wesseling, and Dow at Terneuzen. For refining and upgrading: Neste at Porvoo with up to 150,000 tonnes a year of capacity, and TotalEnergies at Antwerp and Grandpuits. Alongside those sit carbon black producers for tyre-derived heavy fraction, refiners co-processing, and fuel blenders. These are publicly reported activities, not a customer list of ours.

Does BASF buy pyrolysis oil?

BASF operates ChemCycling, which feeds pyrolysis oil into its Verbund production network to make products from chemically recycled plastic waste. It has worked with partners specialising in both mixed plastic waste and end-of-life tyre pyrolysis, which makes it one of the few taking both types. Whether it will buy your specific oil is a question of specification and volume, not of whether the route exists.

Does Neste take pyrolysis oil?

Neste has processed liquefied waste plastic, including pyrolysis oil, since 2020 and commissioned an upgrading facility at its Porvoo refinery with capacity for up to 150,000 tonnes a year, built specifically for difficult streams such as multi-layer packaging and contaminated plastics. The scale means specification and consistency matter more than volume.

What is LyondellBasell MoReTec?

LyondellBasell's advanced recycling technology, converting polyolefin waste into pyrolysis oil and pyrolysis gas. The company is building an industrial-scale, fully electrified demonstration plant at Wesseling in Germany, a project selected for a EUR 40 million EU Innovation Fund grant.

Can you introduce me to these companies?

We can tell you honestly which of them is realistic for your specific oil, and we have our own buyer relationships across refiners, crackers, carbon black producers and blenders. What we will not do is claim a relationship we do not have. Send the assay and the monthly volume and you will get a straight answer, including if the answer is that you are not ready for that conversation yet.

My volume is small. Is there any point?

Yes, but not by approaching a major directly. A plant built around 150,000 tonnes a year will not build a process for 200 tonnes a month. Aggregating small parcels into cargo-sized lots is exactly what a broker does, and it is often the difference between a producer having a market and not having one.

Sources and further reading

Primary sources for the rules and figures on this page, so you can check them yourself. Legislation is amended: always read the consolidated text on the date that matters to you.

Who to ask about Who buys pyrolysis oil

Ask us. Want to know which of these is realistic for your specific oil? Send the assay and we will tell you honestly. We answer the same working day, in English or Dutch, and across the team also in French, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Russian. There is no charge and no obligation for a market read or a second opinion on a specification.

You get Bart van den Brug directly, not a call centre and not a form that goes nowhere. We are an independent broker: we never take title, we do not trade our own book, and we are paid a commission only on business that actually concludes. That is why we will also tell you when the answer is no.

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Sustainable Commodities 3 B.V., Lemmer, the Netherlands

Last reviewed 09 August 2026. Regulatory references are given for orientation and are not legal advice: verify against the current Official Journal text before contracting.