BASF and REEF Technology sign strategic cooperation agreement to improve the quality of plastic recyclate materials

March 21, 2022

BASF has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Zhejiang REEF Technology Co., Ltd. to develop state-of-the-art recyclate formulations for applications used in the automotive, packaging and consumer industries.

Under the agreement, BASF will provide its recently launched IrgaCycle™ additive solutions along with technical consultancy and support for recycled polymer formulations conducted at BASF’s test facilities.

“Our goal is to help deliver higher quality, safer and more effective products while supporting the plastic circular economy and helping reduce the use of virgin plastic material,” says Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President, Performance Chemicals Asia Pacific. “In this way, we support our customers and partners to achieve their sustainability targets and create sustainable innovations together.”

“We wanted to partner with a world-class manufacturer of plastic additives like BASF to improve the quality of our recyclates,” says Shirley Wu, General Manager, REEF. “With its in-depth expertise in plastic additives, BASF supports us in this core area by improving the processing and long-term stability of highly contaminated recycled plastic fractions.”

IrgaCycle™ additive solutions help to increase the percentage of mechanically recycled content in several end-use applications such as packaging, automotive & mobility, and building and construction. These solutions address specific quality issues associated with recycled resins, such as limited processability, poor long-term thermal stability and insufficient protection from outdoor weathering.

The IrgaCycle range is offered as part of the VALERAS™ portfolio. In addition to enabling plastics circularity with IrgaCycle, VALERAS solutions bring significant sustainability value to plastic applications by improving durability, reducing waste, saving energy, reducing emissions, and promoting biodiversity.

Zhejiang REEF Technology Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., a joint venture company of the French Veolia Group in China. It focuses on the R&D and production of high-end engineering plastic modified materials. REEF’s core products include recycled polypropylene, high density polyethylene, ABS, and polyamide.