The end of 2024 is soon approaching and for the SPIRIT ecosystem, the third year of the programme has been a busy and successful one. Let’s look back at the past year and envision the fourth and last year with the Borealis SPIRIT team.
Seven new projects under the SPIRIT umbrella
According to Jaakko Tuomainen, the year 2024 has been a success in the SPIRIT programme. Out of the 19 ecosystem projects under the SPIRIT umbrella, as many as seven were approved to receive funding in 2024. Some of these projects such as e-Propane, Bio4all and IsoSUS are contributing to the SPIRIT ambition of replacing fossil feeds with renewable and circular feedstock, whereas SUSCAPO looks at the opportunities provided by methane pyrolysis. On the other hand, STAR and KEMU are focusing on the Finnish plastic waste streams and how they could be recycled in larger volumes than today. PlasticsCircularity aims to accelerate the circular economy of plastics with regulation and a well-functioning value chain at the core, while Reusify will showcase the potential of reuse in takeaway packaging.
The new projects have brought 46 new members onboard. “We already have some retired projects,” reminds Sanna Martin.“ For example, the Zero ink project was completed. It developed additive-free marking solutions that replace inkjet and label technologies with laser solutions, enhancing efficiency and improving plastics’ recyclability by eliminating ink and label contaminants.”
Project results were also shared at the SPIRIT annual event, which took place in June in Porvoo, bringing together about 100 SPIRIT enthusiasts.
“Lively discussions and a forward-looking atmosphere still bring a smile to my face,” Jaakko adds.
Activities at Borealis to support the ambitions of the SPIRIT programme
During 2024, Borealis has continued its internal research activities in the SPIRIT programme as well. Examples of this research is the product development of Borealis Borcycle(tm) and Bornewables(tm) products. “This means for example test runs at our steam cracker,” explains Ismo Savallampi. “Again in 2024 we have had production-scale test runs with various feeds, such as CO2-based e-naphtha.” A positive outcome originating from the SPIRIT research was the investment decision at the Porvoo steam cracker, enabling increased share of circular raw material used. As another milestone in 2024, Borealis joined the Circular Economy Green Deal with the ambition to use 30 kt of Finnish plastic waste as raw material by year 2035. This commitment is a natural continuum to the work Borealis has driven in the SPIRIT programme and will support the objectives towards carbon neutrality and plastic circularity. In 2024, Borealis also finalised the acquisition of Integra Plastics, expanding its European offering in recycled polyolefins.
Exciting year 2025 ahead
2025 marks the fourth and final year of the SPIRIT programme in its current form. Looking ahead, there are two new projects waiting for a funding decision soon. Jaakko is looking forward to sharing news about those at the very beginning of 2025 but gives already some sneak peeks: ”UrbanFactory will continue the pyrolysis process research in an industrial consortium and ProWaters is focusing on the efficient use of water as a resource. For us, the main point in ProWaters is micro plastics in water treatment. A few more projects are also being prepared, topics ranging from plastic waste washing into consumer behaviour in circular economy.
In the first quarter of 2025, discussions around the highly emerging topic of circularity in/of food contact plastics; such as Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) implementation challenges, will continue. The SPIRIT programme is also planning to draw final conclusions on the current findings related to biomass and CO2, both in an internal workshop and in conjunction with ForePlast co-creation project led by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Key results and findings of the ending projects will be presented in their own final seminars, webinars and at the SPIRIT final event in autumn 2025, and of course actively communicated via news articles on SPIRIT web page and professional media.
With these initiatives, the SPIRIT team wants to look beyond the SPIRIT project period and initiate further activities that are needed to implement the SPIRIT vision of “sustainable plastic industry transformation”.
Thank you all for great collaboration! Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year 2025 from the SPIRIT team!