# LyondellBasell Industries N.V.

> 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 Audi example is specific to its stated certified mass-balance allocation; it does not establish that another grade or application has the same feedstock, allocation or qualification status.

- Industry: Chemicals & Advanced Materials
- Collection: Active
- Materials: Plastics
- Processes: Recycling
- Evidence through: 2026-09-18
- Canonical URL: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/lyondellbasell-industries-nv

## 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 [5]

**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 [7]

**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 [1]
- **Sustainability reporting** LyondellBasell, current reporting hub https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability/reporting/ [2]
- **Sustainability ambitions** LyondellBasell, current sustainability page https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability [3]
- **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/ [4]

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] Form 10-K, FY2025 - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1489393/000148939326000012/lyb-20251231.htm
- [2] Sustainability reporting - https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability/reporting/
- [3] Sustainability ambitions - https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/sustainability
- [4] Closing the loop: old car plastics - https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/media-insights/closing-the-loop-turning-old-car-plastics-into-new-possibilities/
- [5] LyondellBasell 2025 Annual Report: CEO letter - https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/media-insights/2025-annual-report-ceo-letter/ - 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 - https://www.lyondellbasell.com/en/media-insights/closing-the-loop-turning-old-car-plastics-into-new-possibilities/ - 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 - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1489393/000148939326000012/lyb-20251231.htm - The company's disclosed 2030 ambition and MoReTec-1 target start-up; an ambition is not realized output, qualified grades or customer allocation.

From the Material Transition company brief library: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/lyondellbasell-industries-nv