Agilyx and Kumho Petrochemical Assess a Chemical Recycling Facility to Produce Raw Material for Tires Out of Plastic Waste

TIGARD, Oregon, USA – Agilyx Corporation (AGLX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS (Euronext Growth (Oslo): “AGLX”) and a pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics and Kumho Petrochemical, a global leader in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, have announced a collaboration to explore the development and construction of a chemical recycling project in South Korea.

“We’re very interested in recycling of post-use plastics, while focusing on utilizing post-use polystyrene into the pure styrene,” stated Jong-Hoon Baek, CEO of Kumho Petrochemical. “Collaboration with Agilyx will give Kumho Petrochemical an opportunity of proposing new line of eco-SSBR products to most of our customers who prefer sustainable products.”“We are pleased to partner with Kumho Petrochemical to explore this project and expand the market for post-use recycled polystyrene into new, high growth and technically demanding applications such as this,” stated Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “The potential to use waste plastic to create high performance SSBR for the manufacture of tires is a very exciting example of our technology’s ability to create a new life for plastic.”

The project will use Agilyx unique and novel chemical recycling technology to produce pure styrene from post-use polystyrene. This would be used as a virgin equivalent raw material to produce solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR), a key component for the manufacture of tires, including for the large volume, high-performance tire segment. The project would mark an exciting new application of Agilyx’s polystyrene depolymerization technology, introducing a new pathway for polystyrene into SSBR.

About Agilyx

Agilyx (AGLX) is an early leader in the advanced recycling of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics. With Agilyx's chemical recycling technology, mixed plastic waste or streams of discrete post-use plastics, such as polystyrene, can be converted to new virgin-equivalent plastics, as well as chemical products and fuels – creating the opportunity for true circularity. The company has not only developed these first-to-market products but has also developed a feedstock management company, Cyclyx International, LLC, and is partnering with a range of waste service providers, municipalities, petrochemical, and brand and retail companies to develop closed-loop recycling solutions for mixed waste plastics. www.agilyx.com.

About Kumho

Kumho Petrochemical, founded in 1970 and possessing the largest synthetic rubber manufacturing capacity in the world, is doing businesses in various fields, such as synthetic resins, specialty chemicals, nanocarbon, energy, and building materials. The company manufactures synthetic rubber products using butadiene and styrene, etc., as raw materials. Along with synthetic rubber, synthetic resin, which is used in plastics and building materials, is one of the company's major areas of business. In announcing the new vision of a “Solution Partner Creating Our Common Future With Value Beyond Chemistry” in 2020, the company is focusing on enhancing its competitiveness and creating sustainable value by taking a broad, long-term view of the future.
www.kkpc.com/eng/