December 17, 2025 12:11

The partnership on PMMA chemical recycling between Germany’s Röhm and Italian company NextChem (Maire Group) is being further strengthened. The collaboration was formalized last year with a project for a PMMA waste depolymerization plant in Italy, scheduled to come on stream by the end of 2026 (read here).

The next step, announced in recent days, involves a feasibility study commissioned to NextChem for a second plant with a capacity of 5,000 tonnes per year, to be built in Germany at Röhm’s Worms site.
The project represents a further milestone on the path toward the licensing of the NXRe PMMA technology.

The NXRe continuous catalytic depolymerization process, developed by NextChem together with Biorenova, combines thermal energy with a specific catalyst to break polymer chains and convert polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) back into its original monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA).

The technology has been tested at pilot scale at Montorio al Vomano (Teramo, Italy), where the Italian industrial plant will also be built. The process has demonstrated its ability to treat both pre- and post-consumer waste streams, producing recycled MMA (rMMA) with good purity, suitable for subsequent polymerization.

The initiative is fully aligned with Röhm’s objective of recycling production scrap, thereby avoiding landfill disposal or incineration, while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint of virgin PMMA.

“This feasibility study with Röhm, a leading PMMA producer, represents a fundamental step toward the industrialization of advanced recycling solutions and demonstrates the value of strong partnerships in driving the energy transition,” said Fabio Fritelli, managing director of NextChem. “Together, we are strengthening the European PMMA circularity network and promoting innovation for a low-carbon future.”

© Polimerica -  Reproduction prohibited, all rights reserved