Project Snapshot (At a Glance)
Partner Context: Collaboration with PCK Raffinerie GmbH, VERBIO SE and Griesemann Engineering in the “Startup Challenge Schwedt—Design the Industrial Transition”.
Primary Objective: Demonstrate long-term robustness of Cyclize’s next-generation plasma reformer in a 3,000-hour continuous pilot run in Schwedt.
Cyclize' Role: Technology provider, plant designer, integrator and operator of a containerized pilot plant.
Technical Scope: Testing new generation of Cyclize Plasma Reformer, producing syngas from CO₂ and specific hydrocarbons as feedstock representing site-specific waste, operated with remote monitoring and closed-loop cooling.
Key KPI targets: 3,000 operating hours without critical electrode replacement / Stable syngas quality suitable for downstream chemical use
Project Duration: Approx.12 months implementation phase plus potential extended operation on site.
Partner & Context
Cyclize is working with PCK Raffinerie GmbH (refinery) as key partner, VERBIO SE (biofuels producer) and Griesemann Engineering (EPC and site services) at the Schwedt industrial site, which is undergoing a major transformation towards climate-neutral production.
The project is part of the Startup Challenge Schwedt – “Design the Industrial Transition”, with the goal of exploring new circular and defossilized value chains based on local waste streams and CO₂ point sources.
Challenge
Schwedt’s petrochemical depend heavily on fossil-based feedstocks for key intermediates such as methanol and olefins, while generating complex waste streams and CO₂ emissions that are currently mostly incinerated or vented.
To enable a local carbon circular economy, the site needs a robust, scalable way to:
Convert complex, mixed industrial waste into valuable feedstock.
Utilize CO₂ from point sources as a carbon input instead of an emission.
Prove that such a process can operate reliably over thousands of hours in an industrial environment, a key precondition for TRL7+ plants.
At the same time, the solution must be cost-competitive with fossil syngas production and fit within existing site infrastructure and permitting frameworks.
Cyclize Approach & Solution
Cyclize designs, builds and operates a containerized plasma reforming pilot plant in Schwedt and runs a feedstock qualification programme in Stuttgart. The team leads process and plant design, plasma reformer development, automation and data analysis.
On-site process: Dry reforming of CO₂ with specific hydrocarbons as feedstock representing site-specific waste in a container with a non-thermal plasma reformer, remote monitoring and closed cooling.
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Parallel testing: Lab-scale trials in Stuttgart to assess the carbon recovery potential of selected PCK and VERBIO waste streams.
Project scope: Engineering, build, commissioning and a 3,000-hour durability run as a blueprint for future larger-scale units.
Cyclize works with PCK as key partner, VERBIO and Griesemann Engineering: partners supply waste streams and CO₂ point sources, support site integration and permitting, and jointly evaluate results from feasibility testing through to long-term pilot operation.
Outcomes & Impact
The project is designed to demonstrate long-term continuous operation of Cyclize’s next-generation plasma reformer in an industrial environment, targeting 3,000 hours of stable syngas production from CO₂ and specific hydrocarbons as feedstock representing site-specific waste. The containerized, remotely operated pilot will validate the plant concept and generate detailed data on electrode wear, process efficiency and syngas quality, forming the technical basis for a future MW-scale TRL7 unit.
In parallel, testing of selected PCK and VERBIO waste streams will quantify their carbon recovery potential and the associated CO₂ reduction compared with conventional disposal. Together, these results create a concrete scale-up path towards a local TRL7/8 plant in Schwedt and, in the longer term, a 10 MW unit processing around 30,000 tonnes of waste per year, strengthening the site as a hub for circular, defossilized carbon value chains.
Contribution to Carbon Circularity
Circular Schwedt is a key step in closing the carbon loop at an integrated industrial site: local waste streams and CO₂ point sources are turned from a liability into a feedstock for fossil-free syngas.
By demonstrating that Cyclize’s process can replace virgin fossil carbon with carbon from mixed waste and CO₂ while remaining cost-competitive, the project paves the way to defossilize existing product chains such as methanol and olefins that are already processed in Schwedt.
Ultimately, Circular Schwedt shows how Cyclize’s technology can enable a local carbon circular economy: waste and CO₂ are recycled into syngas, which then feeds back into the chemical value chain instead of ending up as emissions.
Cyclize was selected as one of the winners of the first Startup Challenge Schwedt, an innovation program launched by Startup Lab Schwedt to support industrial transformation projects.
Contact
Fabian Hezel
Commercial Manager
Get in touch via e-mail.
Disclaimer
Startup Lab Schwedt is a joint initiative of the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, LEIPA Group GmbH, and PCK Raffinerie GmbH.
It is funded by the EXIST program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy based on a resolution of the German Bundestag and is additionally supported by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Culture of the State of Brandenburg.
