BIOBTX BV

Their core work

BIOBTX BV is a Groningen-based technology SME specialising in catalytic pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste to produce aromatic chemicals — primarily BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene) — as fossil-free substitutes for petrochemical feedstocks. Their core technology converts plastic residues that cannot be mechanically recycled into high-value chemical building blocks used by the chemical industry. They bring both process engineering expertise and AI-assisted process optimisation to the challenge of closing the plastics loop. In practical terms, they sit at the interface between waste management and the chemical industry, converting end-of-life plastic streams into marketable raw materials.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2018), BIOBTX focused tightly on the technical process: catalytic conversion, pyrolysis chemistry, aromatic recovery, and AI-assisted optimisation of mixed plastic feedstocks — a technology-push agenda centred on making the conversion process work. By their second project (2021), the language had shifted toward systemic and market framing: alternative raw materials, defossilisation, carbon neutrality, and circular ecosystems — signalling a move from proving the technology to deploying it within broader industrial and policy contexts. The trend is a maturation arc: from lab-adjacent process development toward commercialisation language and industrial integration.

BIOBTX is moving from technology validation toward commercial-scale deployment and industrial ecosystem integration, making them an increasingly relevant partner for companies seeking to decarbonise their chemical feedstock supply chains.

How they like to work

BIOBTX has participated exclusively as a consortium partner rather than coordinator across both projects, suggesting they contribute a specific proprietary technology rather than leading broad research programmes. Their 35 unique partners across just 2 projects indicates they operate within large, multi-stakeholder Innovation Action consortia — the kind that include industrial end-users, waste processors, and policy actors alongside technology developers. This profile is typical of a technology SME that joins consortia to validate and scale its core product within real-world industrial settings.

BIOBTX has built connections with 35 unique partners across 11 countries through only 2 projects, reflecting the large multi-partner consortia characteristic of EU Innovation Actions. Their geographic reach spans much of Europe, though their home base in the Netherlands — a chemical industry hub — is likely their primary commercial anchoring point.

What sets them apart

BIOBTX occupies a rare niche: they are a commercial-stage SME with a proprietary catalytic pyrolysis technology that produces aromatic chemicals from waste plastics — a technically difficult problem that most recycling companies avoid because mixed plastics are hard to process. Unlike academic groups working on the same chemistry, BIOBTX is structured to commercialise outcomes, which makes them a credible industrial partner rather than a research-only contributor. For consortium builders, they offer a combination of cutting-edge conversion technology, industrial orientation, and a clear commercial motivation to make projects produce real-world results.

Highlights from their portfolio

• iCAREPLAST
  Their foundational EU project combining catalytic pyrolysis, AI process optimisation, and CO2 capture in a single integrated system for recovering aromatics from otherwise unrecyclable urban plastic waste.
• CIRCULAR FOAM
  Their largest grant (EUR 587,733) and most recent project, extending their recycling expertise into end-of-life foam — a notoriously difficult plastic fraction — with an explicit defossilisation and carbon neutrality framing.