Key facts
- Company
- LyondellBasell Industries N.V.
- Industry
- Chemicals & Advanced Materials
- Materials
- Plastics
- Processes
- Recycling
- Evidence through
- Sources
- 7 public sources
Material inputs to resolve
Petrochemicals, polymers, intermediates and advanced polymer solutions
LyondellBasell has a named closed-loop automotive example that is more useful than a generic circularity statement. In a disclosed Audi collaboration, recovered vehicle plastics were chemically recycled and recycled content equivalent to 70% of the Audi product was attributed through certified mass balance. The next decision is not to generalize that result. It is to test one grade against feedstock acceptance, allocation rules, technical data and the actual application requirement.
Public evidence shows a large polymers and chemicals system, Circulen recycled and renewable-based polymer offerings, a 2030 ambition of 800,000 tonnes of recycled and renewable-based polymers marketed or produced annually, and a first commercial-scale MoReTec unit in Wesseling, Germany. Public sources do not establish a U.S. plant-level feedstock specification, buyer commitment, or mass-balance allocation volume.
$30.153B FY2025 sales and operating revenues
800,000 t/yr 2030 circular polymer ambition
50,000 t/yr MoReTec-1 design input, Germany
Evidence Plant and chain-of-custody gaps remain
- Ethylene and propylene feedstocks, including naphtha and NGL-derived streams
- Recycled and renewable feedstocks for Circulen routes
- Additives, catalysts, packaging and process inputs
Outputs and residuals to resolve
- Polyethylene, polypropylene, oxyfuels, intermediates and compounds
- Pyrolysis oil and gas planned as cracker feedstock at MoReTec-1
- Off-spec polymer, purge and process residuals are not publicly quantified by site
First decision: Start with one named polymer grade and one certified production scope. Request the mass-balance scope, TDS, COA, feedstock acceptance rules and customer application requirement before discussing a supply lane.
Control
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. is the public parent and operating company.
Products
Olefins, polyethylene, polypropylene, propylene oxide derivatives, oxyfuels, intermediates and compounding solutions.
Circularity asset
MoReTec-1 in Wesseling is a company-disclosed advanced-recycling project designed for 50,000 tonnes per year of mixed plastic waste input. A separate Audi example shows how certified mass-balance allocation can work for a defined application.
Evidence boundary
The public record is strong on company ambition and named technology, weaker on site-specific feedstock qualification and buyer-level allocation.
Evidence boundary
LyondellBasell describes the Audi example as certified mass-balance attribution. That company case does not establish the physical composition or qualification status of every product or grade. The reviewed sources do not provide a plant-level feedstock specification, allocation volume or customer qualification for other applications.
Material flow map
| Material or stream | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feedstock | Recycled or renewable input | Route and certification | Named polymer grade and application |
| Mixed plastic waste | Potential pyrolysis oil | MoReTec, Germany | Not disclosed publicly |
| Recycled or renewable feedstock | Mass-balance polymer | ISCC PLUS scope | Grade and COA required |
This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity.
Evidence and qualification status
Qualify a certified mass-balance lane
Channelview, La Porte, Lake Charles and Clinton are named in company certification disclosures, but the public material does not give a plant-level supplier spec or allocation volume.
Evidence gap: The disclosures reviewed do not publish a plant-level supplier specification or allocation volume for these named sites.
Turn MoReTec into a feedstock qualification workstream
LyondellBasell reports that MoReTec-1 construction in Wesseling is underway and operations are expected to begin during 2027, at a design capacity of 50 KTA. This is a planned facility and capacity, not current throughput or a published feedstock-acceptance specification. 2025 Annual Report
Evidence gap: The public report does not disclose MoReTec-1's feedstock acceptance specification or qualified supply volume.
2030 circularity ambition
The 2025 Form 10-K describes an ambition to produce and market 800,000 metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually by 2030. This is a target, not realized output or customer allocation. 2025 Form 10-K
Evidence gap: The filing describes the ambition but does not establish realized annual output or customer allocation against that target.
Evidence register
- Form 10-K, FY2025 SEC EDGAR, filed Feb 20, 2026 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1489393/000148939326000012/lyb-20251231.htm
- Sustainability reporting LyondellBasell, current reporting hub https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability/reporting/
- Sustainability ambitions LyondellBasell, current sustainability page https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability
- Closing the loop: old car plastics LyondellBasell, official Audi collaboration and certified mass-balance disclosure https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/media-insights/closing-the-loop-turning-old-car-plastics-into-new-possibilities/
Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit.
Material Transition editorial interpretation
The decision is not whether LyondellBasell has a circularity story. It does. The decision is whether a specific feedstock, grade and chain-of-custody lane can survive qualification. The next useful working session starts with: Start with one named polymer grade and one certified production scope. Request the mass-balance scope, TDS, COA, feedstock acceptance rules and customer application requirement before discussing a supply lane.
Sources
- [1]
- [2] Sustainability reporting (opens in a new tab)
lyondellbasell.com
- [3] Sustainability ambitions (opens in a new tab)
lyondellbasell.com
- [4] Closing the loop: old car plastics (opens in a new tab)
lyondellbasell.com
- [5] LyondellBasell 2025 Annual Report: CEO letter (opens in a new tab)
lyondellbasell.com
Company-reported construction status, expected start-up and design capacity; not current operating throughput or a feedstock supply specification.
- [6] LyondellBasell: Closing the loop, turning old car plastics into new possibilities (opens in a new tab)
lyondellbasell.com
LYB's disclosed Audi Q8 e-tron application and its description of certified mass-balance attribution; not evidence that every product contains 70% physically recycled material or that other grades have the same status.
- [7] LyondellBasell 2025 Form 10-K (opens in a new tab)
sec.gov
The company's disclosed 2030 ambition and MoReTec-1 target start-up; an ambition is not realized output, qualified grades or customer allocation.
Topics in this brief