Schneider Electric collaborates with GR3N to tackle plastic recycling challenges and drive circularity in chemical sector
Schneider Electric and GR3N have partnered to create the first open automation system for advanced plastic recycling. GR3N's MADE (Microwave Assisted DEpolymerization) technology breaks down PET into chemical building blocks, creating new PET pellets with virgin-like quality. The collaboration leverages Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a software-defined automation system that decouples hardware from software.
Key benefits include industrial scalability, design flexibility, reduced engineering time, and cost savings. The partnership aims to address the global plastic waste crisis, with plans to reach industrial scale by 2027 through a 35-40kta plant. This initiative aligns with the urgent need to revolutionize plastic consumption models and achieve net-zero goals by 2050.
Schneider Electric e GR3N hanno stretto una partnership per creare il primo sistema di automazione aperto per il riciclaggio avanzato della plastica. La tecnologia MADE (Microwave Assisted DEpolymerization) di GR3N scompone il PET in mattoni chimici, creando nuovi pellet di PET con una qualità simile a quella della plastica vergine. La collaborazione sfrutta EcoStruxure Automation Expert di Schneider Electric, un sistema di automazione definito dal software che disaccoppia l'hardware dal software.
I principali vantaggi includono scalabilità industriale, flessibilità progettuale, riduzione dei tempi di ingegnerizzazione e risparmi sui costi. La partnership mira ad affrontare la crisi globale dei rifiuti di plastica, con piani per raggiungere una scala industriale entro il 2027 attraverso un impianto da 35-40kta. Questa iniziativa si allinea con l'urgenza di rivoluzionare i modelli di consumo della plastica e raggiungere obiettivi di azzeramento delle emissioni nette entro il 2050.
Schneider Electric y GR3N se han asociado para crear el primer sistema de automatización abierto para el reciclaje avanzado de plásticos. La tecnología MADE (Microwave Assisted DEpolymerization) de GR3N descompone el PET en bloques químicos, creando nuevos pellets de PET con calidad similar a la de la resina virgen. La colaboración aprovecha EcoStruxure Automation Expert de Schneider Electric, un sistema de automatización definido por software que desacopla el hardware del software.
Los beneficios clave incluyen escalabilidad industrial, flexibilidad en el diseño, reducción del tiempo de ingeniería y ahorros de costos. La asociación tiene como objetivo abordar la crisis global de residuos plásticos, con planes para alcanzar una escala industrial para 2027 a través de una planta de 35-40kta. Esta iniciativa se alinea con la urgente necesidad de revolucionar los modelos de consumo de plástico y alcanzar objetivos de cero emisiones netas para 2050.
슈나이더 일렉트릭과 GR3N이 고급 플라스틱 재활용을 위한 최초의 개방형 자동화 시스템을 만들기 위해 파트너십을 맺었습니다. GR3N의 MADE (마이크로파 지원 탈중합) 기술은 PET를 화학적 구성 요소로 분해하여 원자재와 유사한 품질의 새로운 PET 펠렛을 생성합니다. 이 협업은 하드웨어와 소프트웨어를 분리하는 소프트웨어 정의 자동화 시스템인 슈나이더 일렉트릭의 EcoStruxure Automation Expert를 활용합니다.
주요 이점으로는 산업적 확장성, 설계 유연성, 공학 시간 단축 및 비용 절감이 포함됩니다. 이 파트너십은 2027년까지 35-40kta 규모의 공장을 통해 산업 규모에 도달할 계획으로 글로벌 플라스틱 폐기물 위기를 해결하는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다. 이 이니셔티브는 플라스틱 소비 모델을 혁신하고 2050년까지 탄소 중립 목표를 달성해야 하는 시급한 필요성과 일치합니다.
Schneider Electric et GR3N ont formé un partenariat pour créer le premier système d'automatisation ouvert pour le recyclage avancé des plastiques. La technologie MADE (Dépolymérisation Assistée par Micro-ondes) de GR3N décompose le PET en blocs chimiques, créant de nouvelles granulés de PET d'une qualité proche de celle des matières vierges. La collaboration tire parti de EcoStruxure Automation Expert de Schneider Electric, un système d'automatisation défini par logiciel qui découple le matériel du logiciel.
Les avantages clés incluent la scalabilité industrielle, la flexibilité de conception, la réduction du temps d'ingénierie et des économies de coûts. Le partenariat vise à répondre à la crise mondiale des déchets plastiques, avec des plans pour atteindre une échelle industrielle d'ici 2027 grâce à une usine de 35-40kta. Cette initiative s'inscrit dans le besoin urgent de révolutionner les modèles de consommation de plastique et d'atteindre des objectifs de neutralité carbone d'ici 2050.
Schneider Electric und GR3N haben eine Partnerschaft geschlossen, um das erste offene Automatisierungssystem für das fortschrittliche Kunststoffrecycling zu schaffen. Die Technologie MADE (Mikrowellenunterstützte Depolymerisation) von GR3N zerlegt PET in chemische Bausteine und erzeugt neue PET-Granulate mit einer Qualität, die der von Neuware ähnelt. Die Zusammenarbeit nutzt EcoStruxure Automation Expert von Schneider Electric, ein softwaredefiniertes Automatisierungssystem, das Hardware von Software entkoppelt.
Zu den wichtigsten Vorteilen gehören industrielle Skalierbarkeit, Designflexibilität, reduzierte Entwicklungszeiten und Kosteneinsparungen. Die Partnerschaft zielt darauf ab, die globale Kunststoffabfallkrise zu bewältigen, mit Plänen, bis 2027 industrielle Maßstäbe durch ein Werk mit 35-40kta zu erreichen. Diese Initiative steht im Einklang mit dem dringenden Bedarf, die Kunststoffverbrauchsmodelle zu revolutionieren und bis 2050 Klimaneutralitätsziele zu erreichen.
- GR3N's MADE technology can recycle hard-to-recycle PET waste into virgin-like quality pellets
- Schneider Electric's software-defined automation system enables operational agility and scalability
- The partnership aims to scale operations to industrial level by 2027 with a 35-40kta plant
- EcoStruxure Automation Expert is expected to reduce engineering costs by 30%
- The modular design of control software reduces human error at the development stage by 40%
- Global demand for plastics is expected to triple by 2060, potentially outweighing fish in the ocean
- Currently, 50% of global plastic waste ends up in landfills and only 9% is recycled
- GR3N's breakthrough new process to address current hard to recycle PET waste while meeting virgin-like quality
- Schneider Electric's software-defined automation system enabling operational agility to scale from proof of concept to industrial level
- Together, companies are fostering innovation, driving circularity across the chemicals sector
With
In March 2024, GR3N successfully demonstrated MADE and the power of Schneider Electric's open automation technology, EcoStruxure Automation Expert at its demonstration site in
The software-defined automation system decouples hardware from software, allowing devices and equipment to be freely connected across architecture layers, regardless of manufacturer. It acts as the digital backbone of industrial operations at the plant, providing the foundation to make more informed decisions. This approach allows MADE to be also technological demonstration of a new generation of automation systems, where the intertwining between OT and IT enables the exploitation of advanced functionalities for operations management and data analytics.
"Through software-defined automation and hardware independence, we have been able to effectively de-risk our operations and push the boundaries of our technology," said Fabio Silvestri, Head of Marketing and Business Development at GR3N. "We've been able to reconfigure our systems quickly when we see opportunities to improve efficiency, while avoiding supply chain issues due the hardware agnostic nature of the system. This is what is needed to make advanced plastic recycling at reality at scale."
Due to EcoStruxure Automation Expert's modular, agnostic nature, GR3N was able to choose the optimal technology for the demonstration plant and easily scale to new sites. Benefits include:
- Industrial scalability – significantly minimizes the risk of investment during the scale-up of GR3N's technology towards the First of a Kind (FOAK) industrial plant, while offering a new way to protect its intellectual property as process licensor.
- Design flexibility – vendor and hardware agnostic system enabled GR3N to design the best possible solution without being held back by vendor lock in or being impacted by supply chain issues.
- Engineering time and time-to-market reduction – the modular design of control software, supported by digital continuity across the whole plant lifecycle with automation-focused decision making happening at conception, reduces human error at the development stage by
40% . - Control simplification – Vendor-independence allows controls to be distributed or centralized depending on need.
- New opportunities – OT/IT integration provides new opportunities for efficiency and optimization across the whole value chain. thanks to a seamless incorporation of advanced data analytics techniques.
- Reduced costs – the software-defined approach to automation is expected to reduce engineering costs by
30% . - Next-gen workforce – attracts the next generation of workers with a systems that shared similarities with those in IT.
Global demand for plastics is expected to triple by 2060, with the amount of plastics in the ocean predicted to outweigh fish. Meeting demand and curbing pollution, while achieving net zero by 2050, requires a consumption model revolution.
The partnership between GR3N and Schneider Electric, that has started with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding, will enable the chemical recycler to scale operations to new sites quickly and cost-effectively. The solution is expected to reach industrial scale by 2027 with the construction of a 35-40kta plant which will include the pre-treatment, depolymerization and repolymerization.
"Every year, people produce around 460 million tons of plastic, approximately
"If we want to overcome the scale of plastic waste, there are certain non-negotiables. We must see integration across the whole product cycle, modularization to optimize and standardize engineering processes, as well as software defined automation solutions that delivers scalability, break siloes and acts as a gateway to advanced analytics. This project with GR3N demonstrates all of these principles, improving flexibility, scalability and the efficiency of their solution and enabling them to grow to an industrial scale."
Related resources:
- Interview video from the Globuc Go Circular event, April 2024: How microwave-assisted PET recycling - interview with Delphine Largeteau, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (youtube.com)
- A Circular Economy for Plastics and Polymers | Schneider Electric (se.com)
About Schneider Electric
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Our mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.
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We are a people company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable future for all.
About GR3N
GR3N developed an innovative process, based on the application of microwave technology to alkaline hydrolysis, which provides an economically viable approach to the recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), allowing the industrial implementation.
The GR3N process is economically sustainable and industrially viable as it breaks down any type of PET and polyester plastic into its two core components (TPA and MEG monomers), which can then be re-assembled to obtain virgin-like plastics allowing endless recycling loops. This new process has the potential to change how PET is recycled worldwide, with huge benefits both for the recycling industry and for the entire polyester value chain. The company's goal is to become the world-leading supplier of recycled PET and polyester, addressing the global need for virgin plastics and triggering a truly circular approach to plastic recycling. GR3N is part of PETCORE Europe, Chemical Recycling Europe, and Accelerating Circularity.
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SOURCE Schneider Electric
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