Alterra, Technip Energies, and Neste commercially launched Nerea™, a standardized modular solution designed to accelerate the deployment of plastic chemical recycling projects worldwide. The new offering shifts the industry from customised engineering approaches to a standardized product model, enabling waste management companies, project developers, refiners, and petrochemical manufacturers to scale circular plastics production more efficiently. By simplifying project execution and reducing development risks, Nerea™ is expected to support the growing demand for sustainable plastic recycling technologies and circular feedstocks.
Addressing the Global Plastic Waste Challenge
The launch comes at a time when global plastic production continues to rise. Worldwide plastics production nearly doubled over the past two decades, reaching approximately 431 million tonnes in 2024, while recycling rates have struggled to keep pace. As a result, large volumes of plastic waste continue to be sent to landfills, incinerated, or released into the environment. At the same time, tightening regulations in Europe and other regions are increasing demand for recycled materials and circular feedstocks, creating new opportunities for advanced chemical recycling technologies.
Combining Proven Technologies and Industrial Expertise
Nerea™ builds on the collaboration agreement signed by the three companies in November 2024, integrating complementary expertise across the plastic recycling value chain. The platform combines Alterra’s thermochemical liquefaction technology, Neste’s expertise in circular feedstocks, and Technip Energies’ engineering, project delivery, and modularisation capabilities. Alterra’s proprietary technology has already demonstrated more than five years of continuous commercial operation, successfully processing mixed and difficult-to-recycle plastic waste streams into valuable feedstocks.
Standardised Modular Design Simplifies Deployment
Unlike conventional, customised recycling facilities, Nerea™ features a standardised modular design that reduces engineering complexity, lowers pre-investment costs, and provides greater certainty in project execution. The modular solution is designed for rapid deployment across diverse industrial environments and converts heterogeneous plastic waste into high-quality feedstock suitable for petrochemical manufacturing. This approach enables companies to shorten project timelines while improving cost predictability and operational performance.
Supporting the Circular Economy
According to Fred Schmuck, Chief Executive Officer of Alterra, Nerea™ represents a shared vision to make industrial-scale circular solutions easier to implement. By combining proven technology with a standardized delivery model, the partnership aims to remove barriers that have traditionally slowed the adoption of chemical recycling.
Julie Cranga, Senior Vice President, Carbon Capture & Circularity Product Line at Technip Energies, said the integrated solution offers customers greater predictability throughout project development, investment, construction, and operations, helping accelerate the global deployment of chemical recycling facilities.
Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President, Technology & Innovation at Neste, highlighted the company’s expertise in upgrading low-quality raw materials into high-value products. He noted that Neste’s recently commissioned upgrading unit at its Porvoo refinery in Finland—currently the world’s largest of its kind—positions the company to support the industry’s growing demand for liquefied waste plastics and circular raw materials.
Accelerating the Future of Circular Plastics
The commercial launch of Nerea™ marks an important step toward expanding industrial-scale plastic chemical recycling. As per the press release, by combining proven conversion technology, engineering excellence, and standardized plant design, Alterra, Technip Energies, and Neste aim to help the plastics and petrochemical industries reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
