BioBTX Secures €20.8 Million EU Grant for First Commercial-Scale Renewable Aromatics Plant

Dutch circular chemistry technology developer BioBTX has secured a €20.8 million grant from the European Union Innovation Fund for its PETRA project.

Announced on 15 October 2026, the funding will support the construction of the company's first commercial-scale circular aromatics plant at Chemie Park Delfzijl in the Netherlands.

BioBTX has signed the grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) under the IF24 Net-Zero Technologies medium-scale call.

The PETRA facility will process approximately 20,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste annually, including waste unsuitable for mechanical recycling. It will produce around 10,000 tonnes per year of renewable aromatic oil, rich in benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX). The plant will use BioBTX's proprietary Integrated Catalytic Cracking Process (ICCP) technology.

This combines thermal cracking and catalytic upgrading to convert plastic waste into renewable chemical feedstocks. The project is expected to avoid more than 517,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions over its first ten years, representing a 72% reduction compared with fossil-based aromatics production and plastic waste incineration.

The facility is also expected to create approximately 35 direct jobs. PETRA aims to strengthen Europe's circular chemicals industry and reduce dependence on fossil-based aromatic feedstocks.

Source: BioBTX