Germany’s future technologies share one common denominator: plastics. In our series with Plastics Europe Deutschland, we talk to the people turning that into solutions — from material volume to material competence, the core idea behind The Plastic Shift.
For our first company conversation, we sit down with Daniel Koch from LyondellBasell to look at what circularity means when it moves beyond the lab and into industrial reality.
At LyondellBasell’s Wesseling site, the company is building its first industrial-scale MoReTec plant, designed to turn difficult-to-recycle mixed plastic waste into feedstock for new polymers.
We talk about what it really takes to bring circularity to industrial scale — from transforming existing production sites and integrating new technologies into established operations, to creating the conditions that allow these investments to succeed. And we explore why the transition will depend not only on new technology, but also on infrastructure, expertise, regulation and demand.
As Daniel puts it:
“Circularity is not really only a technology question.”
And perhaps that is the bigger story: transforming the plastics industry doesn’t necessarily mean starting again from scratch. It can also mean using the infrastructure, expertise and people we already have to build something new.
This is the first episode in our new mini-series exploring the innovative spirit of Germany’s plastics and polymer industry — and the people turning transformation into industrial reality.
🎧 Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
