Elkem's Collaborative REPOS Project Awarded 2023 Cefic Circularity Commendation

 "While end-of-life silicone recovery at a massive scale is not yet achieved we believe, as part of our company commitment to shaping a more sustainable future, that Elkem must invest in innovation that develops a holistic approach to the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for our products and our customers who use them," said Sean Duffy, VP sustainability. "Our collaborative research through project REPOS seeks to create a flexible, selective, and efficient process to harvest the value of silicone waste and enable development of a service offering that will become a 'must have' in years to come."

 "While end-of-life silicone recovery at a massive scale is not yet achieved we believe, as part of our company commitment to shaping a more sustainable future, that Elkem must invest in innovation that develops a holistic approach to the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for our products and our customers who use them," said Sean Duffy, VP sustainability. "Our collaborative research through project REPOS seeks to create a flexible, selective, and efficient process to harvest the value of silicone waste and enable development of a service offering that will become a 'must have' in years to come."

Reflective of Elkem's three-pillar strategic climate roadmap to reduce process emissions, support the Green Transition and develop circular economies using eco-design approaches, there are two distinct recycling loops that are in-scope for project REPOS:

1.  Monomer Production Loop - to depolymerize waste silicone products to create silicone monomers that can seamlessly integrate back into the manufacturing process. 

2.  Added-Value Product Loop - to transform remaining oligomers not suitable for monomer use into innovative, high-value products.

The three-year collaborative project unites the relevant stakeholders in the LPSE (Lyon Polymer Science and Engineering) consortium, and is supported by BPI France and Region Auvergne Rhone Alpes, combining forces for the required diverse expertise. The 2023 Responsible Care® award recognizes the rigorous development efforts required to successfully demonstrate the technical feasibility of depolymerizing various silicone waste streams at low temperatures. Key achievements include: 

The next phase of REPOS will focus on piloting and scaling up these new technologies for industrialization. 

"The need to transition is at its most urgent, and the obstacles have never been greater. The initiatives exhibited in this year's Responsible Care Awards show industry's united front and the absolute will to transform. Congratulations to all; companies and associations, large and small organisations, from all over Europe. We need leaders like these, paving the way and inspiring others on the journey." said Marco Mensink, Director General, Cefic.

Transitioning to climate neutral while staying globally competitive represents one of the biggest challenges the European chemicals industry has ever faced. Elkem is serious about doing its part to make that transition possible and expedient.

For more information, please view the Cefic description of project REPOS or contact us :

Wendy Cots 
+ 33 (0) 4 72 13 19 00
[email protected]

The following files are available for download:

 

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