Cyclyx announces final investment decision for circularity center

Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Cyclyx International, a joint venture among Agilyx, Tigard, Oregon, and Houston-based companies ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, has announced a final investment decision (FID) to build the first Cyclyx Circularity Center (CCC) in Houston. The facility is designed to accept and process plastics for use in a range of recycling technologies.

“This milestone is evidence of the real progress we are making to increase the circularity of plastic waste as a resource,” says Cyclyx CEO Joe Vaillancourt. “The first-of-its-kind CCC in Houston will serve as a blueprint, which we can replicate across the U.S. to progress our long-term goal of increasing the recycling options for plastic waste. Cyclyx is proud to be an innovator and enabler for unlocking plastic’s potential.” 

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ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell are investing $135 million into Cyclyx to fund operating activities and construction costs for the new facility, which has an expected startup in mid-2025. Cyclyx says the facility will have the capacity to produce 300 million pounds of plastic feedstock per year for advanced and mechanical recycling. The company is sourcing a combination of postconsumer, commercial and industrial plastic scrap.

Leveraging Cyclyx’s proprietary technology, the CCC will accept, analyze and process a range of plastic, including difficult-to-recycle materials, such as food packaging, chip bags and bottle caps.

The CCC will focus on sorting and custom blending collected material to ensure feedstock specifications and classifications meet expectations for ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, who have offtake rights from the CCC. Throughout the process, Cyclyx says it adheres to ISCC PLUS standards to ensure the delivery of traceable, certified feedstocks through the CCC.

Facility operations will create more than 100 jobs, the company says, with additional positions created offsite due to CCC development, including in logistics and collection programs. Cyclyx says it is exploring the development of additional CCCs across the U.S.

In the last six months, Cyclyx has added multiple organizations to its growing consortium. CheckSammy, a Dallas-based materials management solutions company, joined the organization in August, alongside Dalton, Georgia-based AstroTurf and Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Teknor Apex Co. The Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees, Galveston, Texas, and Stamford, Connecticut-based supply chain management company Freepoint Eco-Systems joined in July.