• Agilyx, a Norwegian startup that transforms non-recyclable plastic waste into low-carbon plastic, plastic intermediates, or premium refinery crude oil feedstock, has partnered with multinational venture capital firm Virgin Group to research and develop producing lower-carbon fuel from plastic waste.

• The companies look to recycle plastic waste to produce synthetic crude oil that will then be refined into a lower-carbon fuel. The plan is to initially build a waste-to-fuel production plant in the US and then expand into other countries, including the UK. Cyclyx, a joint venture formed by Agilyx, is expected to source plastic waste to be used in the first waste-to-fuel facility.

• For Virgin Group, the partnership is in line with its 2050 net-zero waste goals and its target to use 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. Virgin states that it expects Virgin Atlantic and other Virgin companies to be early users of the fuel. 

Analyst QuickTake: The Virgin Group partnership adds to Agilyx's long list of partnerships over the past few years to commercialize its technology globally. Some of the notable ones include Styrenics Circular Solutions in 2019 to advance its polystyrene chemical recycling process in Europe, Braskem in 2020 to explore the development of advanced plastic recycling in North America, and NextChem in 2021, to focus on developing several chemical recycling projects for third parties in Europe and South America. With the Virgin Group partnership, Agilyx is targeting a new market (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) for its plastic waste recycling process.