Finnish oil refiner Neste Oyj recently said it has purchased a minority stake in Alterra Energy, an Ohio-based company that has developed a new technology for the recycling of plastic waste.

The investment will back the expansion of the US company, which plans in 2021 to start construction of a site in Europe utilising its thermochemical liquefaction technology for turning plastic waste into a liquid similar to crude oil. Companies like Neste can then process and upgrade this material into feedstock for polymers and chemicals production.

The companies will together develop and seek to license Alterra's technology around the world, initially focusing on Europe. The company already has an industrial-scale plant in Akron, Ohio.

“Collaboration with Alterra Energy strengthens Neste’s ecosystem of partnerships that are aimed at accelerating the transition to a circular plastics economy. It demonstrates our commitment to continue developing the chemical recycling industry by supporting some of the leading companies in commercializing promising technologies," Mercedes Alonso, Neste's executive vice president for renewable polymers and chemicals, commented.