Enviro's Sorensson, Blomqvist named to JV Board of Directors

GOTHENBERG, Sweden—A joint venture recently established between Enviro Scandinavian Systems A.B. and Antin Infrastructure Partners, with French tire manufacturer Michelin supporting the JV, is being touted as the world's first large-scale tire recycling group.

Enviro, which will provide the pyrolysis technology (with carbon black and pyrolysis oil as output commodities) necessary to recycle end-of-life tires, will be represented by Chairman Alf Blomqvist and CEO Thomas Sorensson on the JV's Board of Directors.

The JV had its first board meeting June 1, with Blomqvist and Sorensson selected to the board at that time.

In accordance with the arrangement, "Enviro is entitled to board representation in the joint venture from the start," Enviro stated in a June 2 release.

The Board will meet on a monthly basis, Enviro said.

The Swedish firm said March 30 that it was establishing the JV "to commercially scale its technology and output over the next seven years."

The aim is to establish tire recycling infrastructure across Europe—an ambitious undertaking with which Antin has years of experience—that is capable of recycling 1 million metric tons of end-of-life tires annually by 2030. That amount equals roughly one-third of all tires disposed of each year in Europe, according to Enviro.

Enviro said June 2 that Michelin will have the option to expand its role within the JV as future plants are built.

The French tire maker—which also happens to be Enviro's largest shareholder—has committed to a multi-year supply agreement that includes delivery of rCB and tire pyrolysis oil.

In the initial stage of the JV, majority owner Antin will finance 100 percent of the project, but Enviro will have the opportunity to finance as much as 30 percent of the ownership throughout the first 24 months.

Antin has roots in Paris, London and New York, among other global cities.

The company has worked to bring emerging technologies to commercial scale on numerous occasions, Enviro said, with solar, electrification and charging stations as examples.

The first full-scale recycling plant for the Enviro/Antin JV will be constructed in Uddevalla, Sweden, with an initial recycling capacity of 34,500 tons of end-of-life tires, or about 40 percent of the annual volume of end-of-life tires in Sweden.

The plant is estimated to be operational by 2025, according to Enviro.