Quantafuel, DUBAL Holding and BASF are moving to the front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage on the plant for chemical recycling of waste plastics in Dubai. After a six-month feasibility study where the main design parameters have been defined and the site and feedstock secured, the project is now entering the FEED stage with BASF as partner for the new phase of the project. A potential final investment decision (FID) is targeted for early 2023.

The technology-based recycling company Quantafuel has together with DUBAL Holding, the investment arm of the Dubai Government in the commodities and mining, power and energy, and industrial sectors, and global chemical company BASF SE, signed an agreement to carry out a front-end engineering design (FEED) for developing a Plastics-to-Liquid (PtL) processing plant in Dubai. The PtL project will be a significant step towards a circular economy converting low-quality, non-recyclable plastics into valuable products and by that helping Dubai achieving its objective of zero waste going to landfill by 2030. The partners have agreed to cooperate and share the cost for the development of the plant based on the learnings from and optimization of Quantafuel's first full-scale commercial plant in Skive, Denmark.

Italian engineering and construction major Saipem has been chosen as the FEED service provider. The FEED for the development of the 80,000 tons per year plant will be done in 2022, with the potential final investment decision scheduled for early 2023.