Freepoint Eco-Systems has secured a $50 million non-recourse loan for its chemical recycling plant in Hebron, Ohio, United States. Non-recourse finance is a type of commercial lending that entitles the lender to repayment only from the profits of the project the loan is funding and not from any other assets of the borrower. Such loans are generally secured by collateral alone. The term loan, underwritten by ING Capital, a US-based capital markets company and subsidiary of Dutch bank ING Group NV, is the first of its kind in the chemical recycling space, according to Freepoint. 'We are excited to be partnering with ING in demonstrating that plastic upcycling facilities that utilise new technology have access to the project finance loan markets,' said Jeff McMahon, managing director at Freepoint Eco-Systems. 'At 180 million pounds per year of plastic waste processing capacity, our Hebron, Ohio facility is one of the largest commercial scale facilities in the world, reclaiming waste plastic destined for landfills or incineration and upcycling it into a hydrocarbon-rich liquid from which our customers make new products. We believe that this transaction is an important first step in executing our strategy to build numerous waste plastics upcycling facilities across the globe.' The project, dubbed Freepoint's flagship recycling facility, will use pyrolysis to covert plastic waste into oil that will then be shipped to Louisiana to be used by Shell Chemicals to make new plastics. The Hebron location is on a 25-acre site and will use an existing 260,000-square-foot building. Freepoint expects to be able to recycle about 90,000 tons per year. The US-based company started building the plant in December 2022. Back then it expected to start operations in the first half of 2024. Last March, Freepoint said the Hebron facility was on schedule for completion and should start operating by the end of 2024. That September, Freepoint awarded engineering consultancy Wood with a three-year contract to operate and maintain the plant, adding that the facility was approaching completion. There have been no new updates on the starting date since. ‘We are thrilled to close this ground-breaking loan facility for Freepoint Eco-Systems' first commercial-scale upcycling facility,’ said Subha Pasumarti, managing director at ING Capital. ‘This transaction reiterates ING's commitment to support clients active in the circular economy and sustainability sectors. We anticipate demand for debt capital in the plastics recycling market will continue to grow as more waste plastic is recovered and recycled worldwide.’ Last May, Freepoint announced plans to build its first pyrolysis plant outside of the United States. Situated in the Kluizendok site on the left bank of Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, Belgium, the pyrolysis plant is expected to span 10 hectares and have a capacity to recycle approximately 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year. The company opened an office in Düsseldorf, Germany, this September in order to support its efforts to expand its chemical recycling operations in Northwestern Europe.

Freepoint Eco-Systems secures $50M loan for Ohio chemical recycling plant

Freepoint Eco-Systems, a US-based company, has secured a $50 million non-recourse loan from ING Capital for its chemical recycling plant in Hebron, Ohio. The loan, which is the first of its kind in the chemical recycling space, is expected to help the company process plastic waste into oil for use by Shell Chemicals. This is part of Freepoint's strategy to build numerous waste plastics upcycling facilities globally.