Sabien Technology project approved by City of Phoenix

Sabien Technology Group announced significant progress on its waste plastics-to-oil initiative in the United States on Thursday, following the approval of its project by the City of Phoenix Council on 18 December.

The AIM-traded firm said the initiative would use Sabien’s City Oil Field technology as part of the city’s Resource Innovation Campus (RIC), a hub dedicated to circular economy projects and sustainable development.

It said the project, which would proceed in two phases, aimed to transform hard-to-recycle waste plastics and other materials into high-value products.

The first phase would involve a five-year pilot programme to test two technologies.

One would focus on converting municipal solid waste and difficult-to-recycle plastics into biochar, biodiesel, and naphtha, while the other would process biosolids and sludge into bio crude oil, biochar, and liquid fertiliser.

Both pilots were designed to divert waste from landfills while assessing the feasibility of creating valuable outputs.

On successful completion of the pilot phase, phase two would expand the project to a 20-acre site under a long-term lease of up to 99 years.

That phase would involve the construction of advanced processing facilities, research and development labs, and public amenities, including open spaces and education centres.

The expanded facilities would be integral to achieving Phoenix’s 2050 zero-waste goals outlined in its Climate Action Plan, the firm explained.

Sabien’s associate company, b.grn Group, had signed a non-binding letter of intent to lease land for the project.

In the pilot phase, b.grn would use up to one acre within the RIC to develop and test its upcycling technologies.

If successful, b.grn was planning to expand its operations to a 2.74-acre site in the second phase to deploy its City Oil Field Regenerated Green Oil plant.

“The approval of the RIC project by the City of Phoenix and b.grn signing of a letter of intent with the chosen developer is a significant step forward in our plans to deploy COF technology into the US and UK,” said executive chairman Richard Parris.

“It is an endorsement of the need for waste plastic recycling and the applicability of the technology Sabien is promoting.

“It unlocks project funding discussions and negotiations with offtake partners.”

Parris said the fact that the City of Phoenix owned the municipal waste stream within the city, and has a 50% 2030 waste diversion target from landfill, ensured the company would have a reliable source of plastic feedstock for recycling.

“It moves Sabien closer to its goal of generating profits from making the World a better, cleaner place.”

At 1308 GMT, shares in Sabien Technology Group were up 24.88% at 12.8p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.