TotalEnergies kicks off France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant
Grandpuits facility converts hard‑to‑recycle waste into high‑quality recycled plastics to become a zero‑crude industrial platform.
TotalEnergies has started production at France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant, located at its Grandpuits site southeast of Paris. With a capacity of 15,000 tons per year, the launch marks a major step in transforming the former refinery into a zero‑crude industrial platform.
The new unit uses technology developed by Plastic Energy to process hard‑to‑recycle waste that currently ends up in landfills or incinerators. Through a pyrolysis process, heating plastics to high temperatures in an oxygen‑free environment, the material is converted into a synthetic oil. This approach enables the recycling of waste streams that cannot be handled through traditional mechanical recycling.
The resulting synthetic oil is then used as a petrochemical feedstock, replacing fossil‑based inputs. It allows the production of recycled plastics with the same performance as virgin materials, meeting strict requirements for food‑grade and medical applications. To secure supply, TotalEnergies signed long‑term waste‑sourcing agreements in 2023 with French partners Citeo and Paprec.
“The start-up of the first advanced plastics recycling plant in France is an important milestone in the conversion of our Grandpuits site into a zero-crude complex. Alongside Plastic Energy, contributing its technology, and our partners Citeo and Paprec, we are supporting the emergence of a brand-new French plastic recycling activity,” said Valérie Goff, Senior Vice President, Renewables, Fuels & Chemicals at TotalEnergies.
The Grandpuits project is part of TotalEnergies’ broader strategy to expand low‑carbon and circular solutions within its global portfolio, which spans biofuels, natural gas, biogas, hydrogen, renewables, and electricity across 120 countries.
