In April 2021, Mura's subsidiary Renew ELP began construction of the first HydroPRS plant for recycling plastic waste in Teesside, England. The process enables the recycling of unsorted plastic waste with a low_{carbon footprint}. HydroPRS is insensitive to organic contaminants such as paper and food waste, meaning that a wide range of plastic waste is suitable as a starting material. This is shredded in the company's own material processing plant and impurities such as glass, stones and metals are removed.

Renew ELP continues to make progress on the construction of the plant, although the coronavirus pandemic and shortages of raw materials, as in other sectors of the economy, have had an impact on the project, according to a statement from Igus. Following the excavation and civil engineering work, concrete has mainly been poured in recent months to construct the foundations and substructures for the buildings and facilities.

The first equipment, such as storage tanks for distillate, was delivered to the construction site in July. In addition, some of the equipment will be taken to local warehouses or stored at the suppliers' premises. This helps with assembly planning, as the equipment is available at all times and can be installed efficiently. The next major construction projects are the material preparation plant and the main process plant. In July, Mura began programming the control software for the HydroPRS system, which is due to be completed by October.

Capacities to be further expanded

The aim is to put the Renew-ELP site into operation at the beginning of 2023. In the first phase, the plant's capacity will be 20,000 tons, which will be increased to 80,000 tons per year. By way of comparison, researchers estimate that the world's largest garbage patch, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which floats in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, currently consists of around 80,000 tons of plastic waste.

In future, further HydroPRS plants are to be built worldwide - including in Germany. Several potential locations have already been identified. One of these is currently in the development phase and is expected to go into operation by 2025. The planned plants in Germany should then have a processing capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 tons per site.

Mura's business model includes its own sites in the UK, Europe and the USA as well as global licensing opportunities via Mura's partner KBR. Other partners such as Dow Chemical, Chevron Phillips Chemical and Mitsubishi Chemical have since joined. Igus has also been a partner of Mura since 2020 and has invested five million euros in the project.

Working together for more sustainability

Mura is already working with suppliers to supply the HydroPRS plant with plastic waste. These suppliers collect plastic waste from households and cities and deliver it to Mura in the future. "We know the great potential of this ground-breaking technology and are supporting Mura to make a breakthrough in chemical recycling. Together, we want to drive forward the circular economy of plastics in order to conserve precious resources and raw materials," says Frank Blase, Managing Director of Igus.

Igus has been recycling 99% of the plastic waste generated during production for over 50 years and also launched its own recycling program for used energy chains in 2019. With the Cradle-chain and the Iglidur ECO plain bearings, the first products made from up to 100 percent recycled material were also created this year. Also new: the Igus:bike project for sustainable, urban mobility. The concept includes an all-plastic bicycle that is completely lubricant- and rust-free and whose frame and wheels can also be made from post-consumer waste. With the igus:bike platform, igus also aims to promote plastics expertise in the global bicycle industry and thus drive forward the circular economy internationally.