Brazilian petrochemicals and plastics producer Braskem (São Paulo; www.braskem.com) said it has acquired a minority stake in US chemical recycling specialist Nexus Circular (Atlanta, Georgia; www.nexuscircular.com). Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Nexus converts landfill-bound plastics into circular feedstocks for production of sustainable virgin plastics used in packaging and other applications. Its other investors include Cox Enterprises, Chevron Phillips Chemical, and Printpack.

The move is in keeping with Braskem’s plans for a carbon neutral circular economy, for which the company has set targets to grow the recycled content product portfolio “to sales of 300,000 t by 2025 and 1 mn t by 2030”.

With 41 industrial units in Brazil, the US, Mexico, and Germany, Braskem employs 8,000 and exports to more than 80 countries.

Braskem generated recurring operating results of USD 1.47 bn in Q3 2021, down 17% from Q2 2021, but up 116 % in US dollar terms from the same quarter last year. Compared to the crisis year of 2020, margins would have increased “spreads” for PE and PVC in Brazil, PP in the US and Europe, and PE in Mexico. In contrast, the export volume of PE, PP and PVC to Europe fell by 10% to 225,000 t in Q3 2021, compared to the previous year.