Revolutionary recycling firm looks to move into Scottish green energy hub

Remarkable Energy, a company specialised in advanced plastics recycling, could be the first business to move into the Grangemouth green energy hub. The hub is currently in development on the premises of an oil refinery, which has recently been closed after a century of operations. In March, the Scottish and UK governments published the long-awaited report setting out the options for the site as it transitions away from fossil fuels. Creating high-grade plastics from recycled products was one of the nine options identified in the document. Remarkable Energy has been in discussions with the refinery’s owner, Petroineos, and is now looking to move into Grangemouth after transition operations at the site are completed. The company considers Grangemouth as ideally placed to provide the skilled engineering jobs necessary to expand its business and hopes to make the move within this year.
Most recycling involves “stepping down” the quality of the plastic or using small quantities combined with virgin materials. Remarkable Energy has instead developed a technology that can improve the quality of recycled products, including those made with difficult-to-recycle plastics. The plastics are passed through a thermal catalytic cracker, which creates a crude oil-based liquid. That liquid can then be refined into the parts used in the manufacture of plastics. According to company founder Ed Douglas Miller, it is a circular process that can revolutionize the concept of recycling. The company aims to use its new site at Grangemouth to test a prototype that could deal with over 4000 plastic tonnes each year. It could rise to 20,000 tonnes in less than a decade. At Grangemouth, the company looks to create 25 skilled jobs in the first six months to expand the business, increasing the number to 55 in a few years. Chief operating officer James Boyce has been in discussions with Scottish Enterprise and both the Scottish and UK governments about securing funding to accelerate the move to the new green energy hub.