Recently, the Austrian petrochemical giant OMV has begun operating its expanded ReOil pyrolysis plant in Schwechat, Austria.ReOil is the name of a proprietary technology and process developed by OMV for the chemical recycling of used plastics.), the factory can process up to 16,000 tons of plastic waste annually.
OMV decided to build this expanded ReOil demonstration plant in 2021, originally planned to be operational in 2023. Since 2018, OMV has been operating a smaller-scale plant at its Schwechat refinery. From 2018 to November 2024, the OMV test plant in Schwechat accumulated over 30,000 hours of cracking time, successfully processing more than 2.1 million kilograms of plastic waste.
As early as 2009, OMV became one of the first companies to develop chemical recycling technology for waste plastics. Its patented ReOil process operates at moderate pressure and temperatures between 400 and 450 degrees Celsius. OMV stated that it was the successful operation of the pilot plant that prompted the company to decide to build a larger facility.
OMV CEO Alfred Stern said: "The commissioning of the new ReOil plant is an important milestone on our path to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. As a complement to mechanical recycling, the ReOil process can handle plastic waste that was previously unrecyclable and reintegrate it into the value chain. With our 2030 strategy, we are promoting a circular economy as the cornerstone of our responsible transformation."
At the launch of this expansion project, OMV received up to 81.6 million euros in funding from the EU Innovation Fund for the construction of a planned industrial-scale ReOil plant at the same location. This is the first time OMV has received funding from the EU Innovation Fund and also represents the largest amount of public funding the company has ever secured for an individual project.
It is estimated that the industrial-scale ReOil facility will be able to process up to 200,000 tons of waste plastic, which would otherwise be sent to landfills or incineration plants. OMV has not yet made a final investment decision on the industrial-scale plant, and the plan has been in preparation for many years.
