Vow ASA: VOW AND ETEL TEAM UP FOR RECYCLING OF END-OF-LIFE TYRES

Vow ASA has teamed up with European Tyre Enterprise Ltd. (ETEL), to deploy Vow’s advanced technology in a complete solution to convert end-of-life tyres to valuable raw material and renewable energy. ETEL has identified a potential demand for more than 300 tyre recycling plants in Europe, North America and Japan.

Murfitts Industries (Murfitts), which is a subsidiary of ETEL and the largest collector and processor of end-of-life tyres in the UK and ETIA, a subsidiary of Vow, have been working together for several years. The parties have developed a full industrial process, in which end-of-life tyres are valorised into a premium recovered carbon black.

ETEL is an international tyre and automotive service, maintenance, and repair group. It is a subsidiary of Itochu, one of Japan’s largest trading companies.

“Together with Murfitts, ETEL and Itochu, we are forming a unique British-French-Japanese-Norwegian partnership. We see a huge opportunity for Vow technology and our combined competence and capacity in a rapidly emerging market. We have agreed to come together to offer a truly sustainable method for handling end-of-life tyres and at the same time decarbonise the tyre industry,” said Henrik Badin, CEO of Vow ASA.

Every year 30 million tonnes of end-of-life tyres are generated globally. As of today, around 30 percent of the tyre composition is virgin carbon black, an important component in tyre manufacturing. Virgin carbon black is produced by cracking fossil oil, a process which generate a large quantity of CO2. Today, all major tyre manufacturers are looking to replace part of the virgin carbon black with recovered carbon black in tyre production.

Pyrolytic oil and syngas, the two other products that are generated in the tyre recovery process are valorised into low carbon fuel or synthetic naphta to generate new low carbon molecules.

“The tyre industry is facing a significant environmental challenge on a global scale, and a great opportunity driven by circular economy incentives. We aim at deploying our solution firstly in Europe, North America, and Japan. Combined these regions represent a market of 8.6 million tons of end-of-life tyre or more than 300 industrial tyre recycling plants,” said Mark Murfitt of Murfitts.

The partnership between Vow and ETEL is defined and agreed in a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU is a continuation of more than two years of successful cooperation and joint operation of a first plant installed at Murfitts’ Lakenheath facility in the UK facility.

According to the MoU the parties will develop a modularised and scalable industrial solution and value chain to turn end-of-life tyres into recovered carbon black and clean energy. Vow will deliver its Biogreen reactor technology to the projects and to the companies that build, own, and operate the plants. ETEL has already identified the first three locations. Applications for building permits for these three sites are well underway.

For more information, please contact

Henrik Badin, CEO, Vow ASA
Tel: + 47 90 78 98 25
Email: [email protected]

Erik Magelssen, CFO, Vow ASA
Tel: +47 928 88 728
Email: [email protected]

About Vow

Vow and its subsidiaries Scanship, C.H. Evensen and Etia are passionate about preventing pollution. The company's world leading solutions convert biomass and waste into valuable resources and generate clean energy for a wide range of industries.

Advanced technologies and solutions from Vow enable industry decarbonisation and material recovery. Biomass, sewage sludge, plastic waste and end-of-life tyres can be converted into clean energy, low carbon fuels and renewable carbon that replace natural gas, petroleum products and fossil carbon. The solutions are scalable, standardised, patented, and thoroughly documented, and the company’s capability to deliver is well proven.

The company is a cruise market leader in wastewater purification and valorisation of waste. It provides technology and solutions which enable industries to transition towards a fossil-free future by converting biomass and waste into valuable resources and clean energy. The company also has strong niche positions in food safety and robotics, and in heat-intensive industries with a strong decarbonising agenda.

Located in Oslo, the parent company Vow ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker VOW).

About ETEL

European Tyre Enterprise Limited (ETEL) is an international tyre and automotive service, maintenance and repair business group. The company operates multiple retail brands including Kwik Fit with over 800 centres in the UK and Netherlands as well as Stapletons Tyre Services which sells over 6 million tyres to trade customers in the UK.

ETEL’s primary purpose is to keep drivers safe on the road, which it achieves this by being the number one choice for its customers, a leading automotive aftermarket employer and an acknowledged innovator in its industry.

The information is such that Vow ASA is required to disclose in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.