Bolder secures €32m EU grant for tire recycling plant in Antwerp

Antwerp, Belgium – Bolder Industries Belgium has signed a €32 million grant agreement with the European Commission’s EU Innovation Fund to support the construction of a new tire recycling facility in Antwerp.

The planned facility, located at the Port of Antwerp, will cover 55,152 sq.m. and include four pyrolysis reactors and a finishing line, Bolder announced 19 May.

For the first phase, the facility is expected to process over 6 million end-of-life tires (ELT) per year, to produce 18 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of BolderBlack branded recovered carbon black and 21ktpa of pyrolysis oil BolderOil.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with full operations expected in the second quarter of 2027.

Bolder said it intended to expand its operations in the region with additional development planned to more than double capacity in future stages.

The company said the facility will use renewable energy, including wind and recovered heat, and is expected to create 50 jobs in the Flanders region.

Bolder’s tire recycling process is claimed to deliver more than 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional carbon black production methods.

The EU funding follows an earlier major “transformational growth investment” from New York-based private equity fund Tiger Infrastructure Partners.

Bolder has also reached an offtake agreement with Dutch-based Profiltra that will use the company’s recycled materials.

The tire recycler has commercialised its ELT pyrolysis process at an existing facility in Maryville, Missouri where it produces rCB and pyrolysis oil.

The company is also building a second facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, to scale up production, and the Antwerp unit will mark its first overseas plant.