French refining and petrochemical process technology company Axens announced on September 24, 2026 that it has been awarded a Process Design Package for a hydroprocessing unit in the United States that will use 100% tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) as feedstock.
Axens is a French company whose core business is licensing refining and petrochemical process technologies, with a track record of supplying a variety of refining process technologies, including hydroprocessing and hydrodesulfurization, to refiners around the world. The project combines three of Axens’ technology platforms — Prime-D™ for distillate hydrotreating, Revivoil™ for waste lubricant regeneration, and Rewind Mix™ for hydroprocessing of waste-plastic pyrolysis oil — into a single unit to upgrade tire pyrolysis oil, according to the report. The client is reported to be a US-based investor and project developer, with the specific company name and facility site not yet disclosed. The unit is reportedly designed to target a product with sulfur content of 500 ppm or below.
The project is currently in the FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) phase, with a Final Investment Decision (FID) expected in 2027, according to the report. The specific processing capacity and investment amount have not yet been disclosed.
The project is understood as an example of renewable fuel production technologies utilizing circular resources such as waste tires and waste plastics moving into a commercialization stage.
Technology that upgrades tire pyrolysis oil into a feedstock that can be processed at refineries is drawing attention as an alternative that, from a circular economy perspective, can simultaneously address waste disposal and low-carbon fuel production. That Axens has combined individual technology platforms it has applied separately to different waste resources — waste lubricants, waste plastics, and waste tires — into a single integrated project suggests that process technology companies are moving to develop integrated solutions capable of flexibly processing a variety of circular-resource feedstocks. As the project is still at a pre-FID stage, commercialization will take time, but the successive ordering of such projects is analyzed as being linked to a US market environment where regulations and incentives related to renewable fuels are being strengthened. Since waste tire disposal has long been cited as a waste problem with a significant environmental burden, if this technology is commercially validated it could also influence the spread of similar projects. As a technology that can process circular-resource feedstocks using existing refining infrastructure, it is also seen as offering existing refiners a pathway to participate in circular economy businesses without needing new large-scale capital investment. The target sulfur specification of 500 ppm or below, close to conventional diesel product specifications, is also seen by some analysts as suggesting the potential to integrate the product into existing distribution networks without building separate infrastructure.
Whether the project’s FID will proceed as planned in 2027, and how the final processing capacity and investment scale will be determined, are of interest. When the client and facility site will be officially disclosed is also a matter of interest. Whether, if this technology succeeds in commercial operation, additional similar tire pyrolysis oil upgrading projects will be ordered in other regions is also worth watching. How changes in U.S. renewable fuel tax incentives and regulations could affect this project’s final investment decision is also worth following.