The chemical recycling sector is growing apace worldwide, especially pyrolysis technologies. Global installed capacity could increase with an average compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent from 2023 until 2030, forecast Ruirui Zong-Ruehe from the consulting firm Roland Berger, speaking at the Chemical Recycling Innovation Summit 2025 held in Frankfurt at the end of May. In absolute terms, global capacity could potentially grow from 1.2 million tonnes of annual input capacity in 2023 to 9.9 million tonnes in 2030.
Despite the current regulatory and economic uncertainties, the consulting firm believes Europe has the greatest growth potential, with pyrolysis capacity projected to increase by around 60 per cent annually until 2030. The growing market presence of chemical recycling is essential in particular to achieve the targets for recycled content under the new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), according to Ruirui Zong-Ruehe. According to her presentation, from 2030 around 1.7 million tonnes of "circular naphtha" will be required annually if the Regulation’s targets for contact-sensitive packaging are to be achieved. In the subsequent panel discussion, participants cited slightly lower estimates of the volumes of circular feedstocks required to comply with the PPWR targets....
