Page 25 from: Recycling International February issue | 2022
25recyclinginternational.com | January/February | 2022
competitors? There will be some over-
lap with others, expects Igneo’s ceo.
‘But we go after a segment of the mar-
ket that others don’t. Most electronic
recyclers in the US today are basically
collectors of materials which they scrap,
sort and send to smelters. Instead, we
go after the material the smelter cannot
take, either for technical or, mostly, eco-
nomic reasons. We remove the deleteri-
ous elements and upgrade them using
our technology, delivering a sustainable
copper concentrate that the smelter
prefers to take.’
NEXT STOP: WEST COAST
In the perfect world, says Mir, multiple
facilities would be upgrading copper
and precious metals otherwise lost to
landfill and sending them to smelters
around the globe.
Asked how many new Igneo plants
will actually pop up by 2030, he
replies: ‘Probably six. That’s an expan-
sion in France/Europe and multiple
plants in the US, including Savannah
and a second site probably on the
West Coast,’ adding that Igneo is busy
searching for locations.
Igneo has managed to successfully run
a facility in ‘highly regulated’ France.
‘True, France is perhaps one of the
most stringent jurisdictions when it
comes to environmental legislation. I
always tell people “if you can operate
a facility in France, you can run a facili-
ty anywhere in the world and it’s a
true testament to our environmentally
clean technology ”.’
ATLANTA AND VEGAS HUBS
Building modern facilities in the US to
process materials is one thing, getting
hold of the volumes is another.
‘Logistics is the biggest challenge,’
says Mir. ‘You move stuff around that
has low value and there is no collec-
tion infrastructure for these materials
in the US,’ he points out.
Igneo is developing its own collection
system ‘from the ground up’. ‘We are
building eight hubs to reach every
household in the US.’ The first has
recently opened in Atlanta while a
second in Las Vegas is expected to be
operational by March. Both include
sorting and shredding services.
Additional collection hubs are to be
established soon after the initial two
in the northeast, midwest and on the
west coast. In addition to building out
its own hubs, Igneo is targeting acqui-
sitions of hubs as well as developing
strategic relationships with current
market players.
EDUCATIONAL ROLE
Another big challenge, Mir argues, is
to change how people think. ‘I don’t
want to sound too corny but sustain-
ability is all about people – we are the
ultimate beneficiaries of a healthy
planet. Whatever we do, whatever
choices we make in our day-to-day
lives, has consequences – has impact.’
In order to educate people, Igneo
plans visitor centres at each of the
facilities, starting at Savannah. ‘We
want to show people how we recycle
and provide a level of transparency
that is missing in our industry in addi-
tion to educating them of the conse-
quences of not recycling.’
By the end of 2022, Igneo will have
invested over US$ 150 million in the
US operations alone. This investment
will continue thereafter into new mar-
kets and geographies. ‘We have no
shortage of partners who want to
work, invest and grow with us.’
of Georgia. The US$ 110 million (EUR
99 million) project will be up and run-
ning from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Mir: ‘The focus of the Savannah oper-
ation will be on electronic scrap resi-
dues, a blend of low-grade electric
devices; small toys, remote controls,
meters and various other low grade
electronics with high plastic content.’
THE CONSUMER UPRISING
The entrepreneur is well aware that
setting up an e-scrap business in
Europe is different from establishing
an operation in the US. ‘In Europe
recycling rates are high due to legisla-
tion. That’s very different from the US,
where legislation is generally missing.
California is an exception but most US
states have no proper rules for e-scrap
so a lot of materials continue to end
up in landfills.’
At the same time, Mir observes a phe-
nomenon he describes as a ‘consumer
uprising’. ‘Our timing is perfect: con-
sumers increasingly demand that com-
panies in general, and big brands and
original equipment manufacturers in
particular, are doing the right thing.
There is a wave of doing the right
thing. But at the same time we see a
huge gap between wanting to do the
right thing and actually doing it. We
hope we can be a part of bridging
that gap.’
Igneo wants to give companies and
consumers an outlet to become
greener. ‘We have the technology and
the infrastructure to process the mate-
rials that now go to landfill,’ says Mir.
It will not be enough for the company
to be ‘just an e-scrap recycler’. It
wants to do it the sustainable way:
‘For us, how we recycle is very impor-
tant and we are always looking for
ways to reduce our carbon foot print.’
Through the constant evolution of
their technology, the Igneo team has
implemented an auto thermal process
in 2021.
Igneo claims to have reduced natural
gas consumption by 90% to 95%. ‘Our
ultimate goal is to recycle electronic
scrap at our pyrolysis plants without
using fossil fuels but utilising the heat of
our furnace. We’re not far from that.’
‘WE ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT’
Looking at the US market, what about
WHAT IS PYROLYSIS?
Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of organic (carbon-based) materials
through the application of heat. Also the first step in gasification and com-
bustion, pyrolysis occurs in the absence or near absence of oxygen, and is
distinct from combustion (burning) which takes place only if sufficient oxy-
gen is present.
The six-stage process at Igneo France
1. Crushing (to 20 mm and then 6 mm)
2. Sampling (in-process, automated sampling tower)
3. Blending
4. Separation (iron and aluminium removed by magnetic overband and
eddy-current system)
5. Pyrolysis (500˚C furnace removes plastics and resins)
6. Sanitation (off-gases treated in a six-stage process including injection and
filtration)
7. Analysis (spectrometry in Igneo’s lab)
Danish Mir: ‘We want to show people how we recycle and provide a level of
transparency that is missing in our industry.’
COVER STORY
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