The next step on the path to a circular economy
When we talk about the circular economy for plastics, the focus is usually on material circularity—recycling plastics back into new products. That’s an important piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole picture. Circularity is much broader, encompassing efforts to reduce waste, design for reuse and recycling, and even lightweight products—and crucially, it also means achieving circularity in carbon.
Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is an essential part of this wider approach. Until recently, CCU projects largely existed only at a proof-of-concept stage, but we are now witnessing the first steps towards commercial-scale operations.
What is carbon capture and utilization?
CCU involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from sources like power plants and industrial processes before they reach the atmosphere. This captured CO₂ is then used to produce new products, including plastics, fuels, and base chemicals.
The benefits are two-fold: Firstly, capturing industrial CO₂ emissions before they enter the atmosphere helps to mitigate climate change. This is especially vital for reducing CO₂ emissions from hard-to-abate sectors where few alternatives exist. Secondly, using captured CO₂ as a raw material decreases our reliance on fossil resources.
Borealis’ Circular Cascade model illustrates how CCU fits into its holistic approach to decoupling the production of plastics from fossil fuels.
Hydrocarbons produced using industrial captured atmospheric carbon enter the system at the point of “base chemicals from direct carbon capture” in the above diagram.
Driving progress through novel technologies
Though still in the early stages of commercialization, CCU is beginning to demonstrate its potential. Infinium uses a novel production process to create eNaphtha—a product nearly chemically identical to fossil-based naphtha —using captured CO₂ and green hydrogen, all powered by renewable energy.
Recently, the world’s first shipment of eNaphtha travelled from Infinium’s Project Pathfinder facility in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, to Borealis’ Porvoo facility in Finland. There, it is being used as a drop-in alternative to fossil-derived naphtha to create plastics with a lower carbon footprint.
Both Infinium and Borealis’ facilities are ISCC PLUS certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) body, ensuring that sustainably produced feedstock can be tracked and traced from its point of origin throughout the entire chain of custody.
The plastics based on eNaphtha will be of virgin quality, and therefore suitable for demanding and contact-sensitive applications, including packaging, appliances, and apparel. They will also be recyclable in the same way as products made from conventional naphtha.
This will be one of the first times that eNaphtha has been used in commercial plastics production, marking an important step forward and demonstrating how novel technologies and strong partnerships are key to advancing plastics circularity.
CCU in perspective
While CCU plays a valuable role in advancing plastics circularity, it's important to recognize that it’s just one small piece of a much larger strategy. In Europe, circular plastics account for 13.5% of all plastic resins converted into new products and components. This means that the sector is now more than halfway to its 2030 goal of 25% circular plastics.
The majority of this progress has come from mechanical recycling, and that will continue to be the case. But, CCU—along with bio-based feedstock and chemical recycling—is a vital complement, helping to close gaps as we move toward a fully circular plastics economy.
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