The move follows Plastic Energy’s emergence from administration last month (August 2026), with founder Carlos Monreal returning as Chief Executive.
The TEPEAR plant, located at TotalEnergies’ zero-crude Grandpuits complex near Paris, became operational in March 2026 and has capacity to recycle 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year.
TotalEnergies will now own and operate the facility in full, while continuing to use Plastic Energy’s proprietary TAC technology under a licence and technology agreement.
Plastic Energy said the transfer represented the “first concrete step” in the strategic restructuring of its asset base following Monreal’s return as CEO.
The company will continue to own and operate its recycling plants in Almeria and Seville in Spain, as well as its joint venture plant, SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling (SPEAR), in the Netherlands.
TotalEnergies said it remained confident in Plastic Energy’s technology, which converts plastic waste into oil.
Commenting on the transfer, Monreal said: “TotalEnergies’s decision to fully own and operate TEPEAR is a vote of confidence in the technology that Plastic Energy has built.
“The successful commissioning of the TEPEAR site was crucial to Plastic Energy’s development, demonstrating how our technology is a bolt-on solution for the petrochemical industry.”
He added that the experience at TEPEAR would underpin the company’s “next chapter”, with its priorities now including operational performance at its existing Spanish plants, developing value-chain partnerships and advancing its chemical recycling technology.
Plastic Energy restructuring
The development comes shortly after Plastic Energy emerged from administration following insolvency proceedings earlier this year.
The London-headquartered company appointed administrators in May after experiencing cash flow difficulties. At the time, its joint administrators said the group had insufficient liquidity to implement a turnaround plan.
The administration process subsequently resulted in a new ownership structure, with Monreal returning to lead the company he founded.
Plastic Energy was established in 2011 and is headquartered at Carter Lane in London. It employs around 200 people across the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, France and remotely.
Chemical recycling market
Plastic Energy’s restructuring comes against a challenging backdrop for the European plastics recycling industry.
The company has previously cited volatile virgin polymer prices and regulatory uncertainty as factors contributing to a difficult investment environment for chemical recycling.
The wider plastics recycling sector has also faced significant economic pressures, with low virgin plastic prices undermining demand for recycled materials and uncertainty over future regulation making investment more difficult.
Plastic Energy has said, however, that it believes the chemical recycling market is reaching a turning point, with technologies having matured, industrial-scale capacity demonstrated and demand for recycled feedstocks increasing.
Monreal said the transfer of TEPEAR would allow the company to focus on its existing operations and partnerships while continuing to develop its technology.
He added: “The demand for a solution to the issue of hard-to-recycle plastics is greater now than ever.
“We will continue advancing our technology, increasing efficiency of our existing industrial operations, expanding strategic partnerships and accelerating the deployment of chemical recycling globally.”
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