OMV Launches ReOil Plastic Recycling Plant in Austria

OMV has announced a major milestone for the chemical industry after 15 years of groundbreaking research and development. The company has now launched the next expansion of its innovative proprietary ReOil technology at its Schwechat refinery near Vienna.

OMV’s new plant can process up to 16,000 metric tons of hard-to-recycle mixed plastic waste per year – equivalent to the amount of plastic waste generated by 160,000 Austrian households each year.

"The basic materials of the future need to become more sustainable and circular. OMV's chemical recycling technologies play a key role in driving growth in our Chemicals Division. The start-up of the new ReOil plant marks an important step on our path to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. Complementing mechanical recycling, ReOil processes plastic waste that would otherwise not be recycled, reintegrating it into the value chain. With our 2030 strategy, we are making circularity a cornerstone of our responsible transformation," said Alfred Stern, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV.

The first ReOil pilot plant at the OMV Schwechat refinery has been in operation since 2018 and has achieved nearly 30,000 cracking hours to date. During this trial, more than 2.1 million kilograms of plastic waste have been processed sustainably. The successful operation of the pilot plant led to the decision to build a larger and more extensive facility, which OMV has now completed and commissioned. Both ReOil plants are ISCC PLUS certified.

Next, OMV is developing the first full-scale industrial plant for chemical recycling. OMV’s final investment decision for the plant is subject to internal approval. On March 12, 2025, OMV received up to €81.6 million in EU funding for its industrial ReOil plant – the largest public grant ever received by the OMV Group.