Diamond Edge Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Group announced today its investment in Licella Holdings, an Australian technology leader in advanced recycling and renewable fuels. The funding will help accelerate Licella’s global expansion and commercial deployment of its proprietary Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) technology.

Licella's Cat-HTR process is an innovative technology that converts waste plastics and biomass into oil in supercritical water under high temperature and high pressure, which is then refined to produce chemical feedstocks and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) is involved in the plastic-to-oil conversion business together with ENEOS Corporation, and recently constructed a new chemical recycling facility at MCC’s Ibaraki Plant. The Hydro-PRT technology of U.K.-based Mura Technology, which was adopted for this facility, is based on Licella's Cat-HTR technology.

Licella's Cat-HTR process is characterized by its ability to convert not only plastics but also biomass into oil, and in the “Commencement of a Pre- Feasibility Study for the Commercialization of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Bio-naphtha, and Renewable Diesel Utilizing Domestic Forest Residues” announced by MCC on March 27, 2025, it is envisioned that Licella's technology will be used to produce SAF, bionaphtha, renewable diesel, and other products from woody residue.