Speaking at the Chemical Recycling Europe Conference 2026, the association’s newly re-elected president Valentijn de Neve discussed what the sector needs to scale ahead of 2030. He identified three “Is”—Innovation, Implementing acts, and Investment—as essential to improving yields, providing regulatory certainty and putting new capacity in the ground. 

However, before the three Is must come the three Ds: “demand, demand and demand”. Valentijn argued that offtake needs to develop well before the PPWR targets take effect in 2030. He says costs must be shared across the value chain rather than falling solely on recyclers, petrochemical producers or brand owners.

Valentijn also discussed planned investment in upgrading capacity and whether upgrading could become a bottleneck as pyrolysis oil volumes increase. The much anticipated PPWR implementing act on mass balance rules is also expected to determine the course of that debate, with de Neve expecting regulatory clarity to incentivise further investment in centralised and decentralised upgrading capacity.

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