Sorigué’s Innovation Department has launched a pilot plant at Noguera Renovables’ facilities to validate a catalytic depolymerization technology that could give new life to non-recyclable plastic waste as energy resources.  

Coordinated by Sorigué, with the participation of AMIC – Aplicacions Mediambientals i Industrials de la Catàlisi from Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Despoliplast is funded by ACCIÓ’s “Nuclis de I+D” grant line for climate change projects, under the Agency for Business Competitiveness of the Generalitat de Cataluña.  

Despoliplast could address Spain’s “Law 7/2022, of 8 April, on waste and contaminated soils for a circular economy,” which limits land-filling of plastic waste to no more than 50%.  

From laboratory to pilot plant  

In the first phase (2023–2024), Sorigué and AMIC focused on characterizing plastic waste and developing catalytic depolymerization technology at a laboratory scale. The second phase, currently underway until September 2025, aims to validate this technology at a pilot scale, analysing the real-world behaviour of these wastes under conditions closer to industrial application.  

For this stage, the project collaborates with Celsa Group, one of Europe’s leading steel manufacturers, which has provided parts from scrapped vehicles, and Ecomemb, a leader in sustainable management of reverse osmosis membranes used in water desalination, which has contributed membrane fractions.  

Both types of waste, currently sent to landfills, will be analysed for their potential to become high-quality recycled carbon fuel.  

At the laboratory scale, the feasibility of using gases produced by this technology as precursors for hydrogen through reforming processes has already been studied.  

With this progress, Despoliplast not only offers a circular solution for hard-to-manage waste but also positions Sorigué at the forefront of emerging technologies for the energy transition.  

Innovation at the core  

The Despoliplast project is part of a broader strategy by Sorigué’s Innovation Department, focused on developing sustainable solutions and waste valorization. Initiatives like VAL2H2, which transforms pruning waste into renewable hydrogen; Hidroterm, which converts slurry and agricultural waste into renewable energy and high-quality biofertilizers; and HarvREST, which integrates renewable energy in rural settings, reinforce this commitment to impactful and transformative innovation.  

A leader in construction, water cycle management, infrastructure, and industry, Sorigué is a business group with 70 years of history that places innovation at the heart of its operations. The Innovation Department, in coordination with the group’s business areas, drives solutions aligned with the circular economy and sustainability through projects supported by national and European entities.