-- Company completes next step towards an industrial scale conversion of 
plastic waste into feedstock

LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB), one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining 
companies in the world, today announced the successful start-up of its MoReTec 
molecular recycling facility at its Ferrara, Italy, site. LyondellBasell's 
proprietary MoReTec advanced recycling technology aims to return post-consumer 
plastic waste to its molecular form for use as a feedstock for new plastic 
materials. 

Photo - 
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"Ending plastic waste in the environment and advancing the circular economy are 
key sustainability focus areas for our company," said Jim Seward, 
LyondellBasell Senior Vice President of Research & Development (R&D), 
Technology and Sustainability. "With our advanced plastics recycling 
technology, we return larger volumes of plastic waste back into the value chain 
and produce new materials for high-quality applications, retaining their value 
for as long as possible."

The new plastic materials created by LyondellBasell's MoReTec technology can be 
used in food packaging and healthcare items, which must meet strict regulatory 
requirements. 

Leveraging our global technology footprint

LyondellBasell conducts base research to lead the polymers industry toward 
advanced plastics recycling. In July 2018, LyondellBasell announced a 
collaborative effort with Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to 
advance its molecular recycling efforts. This collaboration proved the 
efficiency of the MoReTec technology at laboratory scale and, in October 2019 
the company announced the construction of the Ferrara pilot plant. Today, the 
company's research and development teams in Germany, Italy and United States 
are actively working to explore potential commercial-scale applications.

The pilot plant is capable of processing between 5 and 10 kilograms (kg) of 
household plastic waste per hour and builds on our research to date. The pilot 
aims to understand the interaction of various waste types in the molecular 
recycling process, test the various catalysts, and confirm the process 
temperature and time needed to decompose the plastic waste into molecules. The 
goal is to have this completed over the next couple of years and then plan for 
an industrial scale unit.

The development of MoReTec technology is part of LyondellBasell's commitment to 
plastics-to-plastics conversion. The technology development compliments the 
company's other circular solutions, which help reduce plastic waste and advance 
the circular economy, including: 

    -- Developing new business models for mechanical recycling: In March 
       2018, LyondellBasell took 50% ownership of Quality Circular Polymers 
        (QCP), a joint-venture with SUEZ. QCP uses a mechanical recycling 
       process to produce premium plastic pellets from packaging waste for 
       use in applications ranging from electrical appliances, washing 
       detergent bottles and suitcases. The materials, marketed by 
       LyondellBasell, can currently be found for example in Samsonite's 
       S'Cure ECO luggage collection. 

    -- Use of renewable feedstocks for plastics production: In April 2019, 
       LyondellBasell produced plastics using renewable raw materials such as 
       cooking and vegetable oil waste, for use in food packaging, toys, and 
       furniture. These products, marketed under the Circulen and Circulen 
       plus brands, meet all regulatory requirements for purity and offer the 
       same high-quality properties as virgin plastics.

About LyondellBasell 
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and 
refining companies in the world.  Driven by its employees around the globe, 
LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing 
solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight 
and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through 
stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel 
efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe 
and effective functionality in electronics and appliances.  LyondellBasell 
sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer 
of polypropylene compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin 
technologies.  In 2020, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune magazine's list of 
the "World's Most Admired Companies" for the third consecutive year.  More 
information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.LyondellBasell.com.  

Cautionary statement 
The statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical 
facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are 
based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be reasonable at the 
time made and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual 
results could differ materially based on factors including, but not limited to, 
our ability to develop sustainable solutions for plastic waste, successful 
operation of the pilot plant described, and our ability to develop 
commercial-scale applications. Additional factors that could cause results to 
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be 
found in the "Risk Factors" sections of our Form 10-K for the year ended 
December 31, 2019, and our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, 
which can be found at www.LyondellBasell.com on the Investor Relations page and 
on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov.  



Editors Notes:  

    -- Work on this technology started at the Houston Technology Center (HTC) 
       in the United States when a number of catalyst types potentially 
       suitable for molecular recycling technology were screened.

    -- Development of this advanced plastics recycling technology on pilot 
       scale continued in Germany, combining LyondellBasell's catalyst 
       systems at the R&D center in Frankfurt and the reactor at the 
       Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). 

    -- The Ferrara, Italy pilot plant, which is capable of processing between 
       5 and 10 kilograms (kg) of household plastic waste per hour, is 
       building on that research and is testing the most promising catalysts. 

    -- The HTC continues the work on catalysts, is performing testing on 
       plastic waste to pyrolysis oil that will serve as feedstock, 
       developing new analytical techniques for plastic waste and pyrolysis 
       oil characterization, and researching post-treatment techniques on the 
       pyrolysis oil to improve its quality.  

SOURCE: LyondellBasell Industries
 
CONTACT: Media inquiries:
         LyondellBasell Media Relations
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