Chemical Recycling Sector Gains Momentum: TotalEnergies Takes Full Ownership of Grandpuits Advanced Plastic Recycling Plant

As part of the equity restructuring of Plastic Energy Ltd., a UK-based company headquartered in London, TotalEnergies SE, based in Courbevoie, France, has agreed to acquire the 35% stake in the Grandpuits advanced plastic recycling plant held by Plastic Energy from new shareholders. Prior to this transaction, TotalEnergies already held a 65% stake in the facility. The plant is now wholly owned by TotalEnergies.

The factory is located in the Seine-et-Marne department and will commence operations in March 2026, with an annual plastic waste processing capacity of 15,000 tons.

The Grandpuits plant employs a pyrolysis process to convert hard-to-recycle plastic waste from French households—including materials collected in yellow recycling bins that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated—into synthetic oil. This process involves heating the waste at high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment. It can process residues that are unsuitable for mechanical recycling and produces recycled feedstock oil that can replace fossil-based raw materials.

This synthetic oil enables the production of recycled plastics with quality comparable to virgin materials, meeting stringent requirements for food contact and medical applications. In 2023, TotalEnergies signed agreements with two French partners—Paris-based CITEO and the Paprec Group—to secure a long-term supply of waste feedstock for the plant.