Startup making diesel from plastic tops $1b value

Bloomberg

Quantafuel AS, a Norwegian company turning plastic waste into motor fuels, jumped the most ever in Oslo trading after finally starting operations at its first plant.
The company, which was founded in 2014, has more than tripled in value since listing on Oslo’s Merkur Market in February. It’s now valued at more than $1 billion. Quantafuel started production at its Skive plant in Denmark, it said in a statement. The delayed startup marks a milestone for the company, which is backed by oil-trading giant Vitol Group and chemicals maker BASF SE, as well as the Danish billionaires behind Lego.
Quantafuel is profiting from a heightened focus from investors on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. It’s seeking to capitalise on increased international efforts to manage plastic waste — including a planned tax in the European Union — by using its technology to turn the material into diesel and other fuels.
Quantafuel says its process produces energy in a more climate-friendly way than regular incineration of plastic waste and that it will help reduce the demand for new oil.
That said, if Quantafuel ends up diverting new plastic waste streams whose locked carbon is burned as fuel, it may end up dumping additional carbon dioxide to the air.