Idemitsu Kosan Begins Basic Design for Second Pyrolysis Chemical Recycling Facility

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Noriaki Sakai; hereinafter "the Company"), in collaboration with its subsidiary Chemical Recycling Japan Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Hitohiko Okamura; hereinafter "CRJ"), has decided to commence basic design for the construction of a second pyrolysis chemical recycling facility1 utilizing waste plastic as raw material. Potential sites are adjacent areas to the Company's Chiba and Aichi plants (Locations: Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture; and Chita City, Aichi Prefecture). The Company aims to expand its pyrolysis chemical recycling business to realize a circular economy and resource security.

1 Pyrolysis Chemical Recycling: A recycling method that produces "chemical recycled products" etc. using CR oil, produced by pyrolyzing waste plastic, as raw material.

Image of this project

In this basic design, the Company will leverage knowledge gained from the first pyrolysis chemical recycling facility (Location: Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture) to conduct detailed studies on facility specifications, processes, etc., in preparation for an investment decision for the second facility. The timing of the investment decision will be made based on factors such as the trend of regulations concerning mandatory use of recycled plastics and the outlook for demand for recycled plastics.

In this project, waste plastic discharged from households and companies will be used as raw material, and CR oil2, equivalent to light crude oil, will be produced through proprietary pyrolysis chemical recycling technology. The produced CR oil will be recycled into "chemical recycled products" etc. by applying the mass balance method3 at the Company group's refineries and plants.

In recent years, the establishment of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Europe, which sets standards for the proportion of recycled plastic content in plastic packaging, has accelerated efforts towards realizing a circular economy. In Japan, movements towards companies setting targets for the use of recycled plastics are also expanding, with the amendment of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act.

Against this backdrop, the need for chemical recycling is growing. This method effectively utilizes waste plastic, which was traditionally incinerated or landfilled, as a recyclable resource, enabling the production of recycled plastics with quality equivalent to petroleum-derived plastics.

The Company positioned "circular business development in anticipation of the expansion of the circular economy" as one of its growth areas in its Medium-Term Management Plan (Fiscal Years: 2026-2030) announced in May 2026, and this project will be promoted as part of that initiative.

Together with CRJ, the Company aims to promote the resource circulation of waste plastic through this project and realize a circular economy and resource security.

2 CR Oil: Chemical Recycle Oil. Oil equivalent to light crude oil produced by pyrolyzing waste plastic.

3 Mass Balance Method: A method of allocating a certain characteristic to a portion of a product based on the input amount of raw material with that characteristic (e.g., raw material derived from waste plastic), when it is mixed with raw material without that characteristic (e.g., raw material derived from petroleum) during the processing and distribution stages from raw material to product.

[Reference]

Press Release: Commercial Operation Begins for Pyrolysis Chemical Recycling Facility Contributing to Recycling of Waste Plastics (April 28, 2026)

YouTube Video (PIVOT): Japan, Poor in Resources: The Little-Known "Urban Oil Fields" - Why Plastic Waste is Turned into "Petroleum"

An executive officer and担当者 discuss Idemitsu Kosan's pyrolysis chemical recycling business with guests.