In November 2024, Summa Equity, through its portfolio company NG Group, acquired Fortum Oyj’s Recycling & Waste business for approximately €800 million. This strategic acquisition merges Fortum’s recycling and waste operations with NG Group’s existing services, creating a leading Nordic entity in the circular economy sector. The combined company now handles over 4.4 million tons of waste annually, with some 3,500 people, and operates across Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.
NG and Summa Equity are leading Europe’s transition toward a circular economy through the innovative capture and use of carbon from waste incineration. Their work represents a critical shift in the waste management and plastics industries, moving from traditional incineration toward advanced technologies that transform waste carbon into valuable feedstock for plastics manufacturing.
Historically, Europe has relied on incineration as a solution to manage residual waste and reduce landfilling. While incineration neutralizes toxins and recovers some energy, it also produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide—particularly from the burning of fossil-based plastics. This process contributes over 100 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually in Europe, and regulations are increasingly targeting this issue by incorporating waste incineration emissions into the EU Emissions Trading System.
NG are innovating to valorize waste with partnerships to extract and reuse high-value materials from waste streams. Notably, they are collaborating with pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk to recycle plastic insulin pens into granulated plastic, effectively converting waste into raw materials for new plastic products.
Summa Equity, an investor with a strong sustainability mandate, supports and scales such technologies through capital and strategic guidance. They emphasize the economic and environmental potential of turning residual waste into chemical feedstock through carbon capture and utilization (CCU). CCU involves capturing CO₂ emitted during waste incineration and reusing it to synthesize chemicals, including those required for plastic production.
Among the most promising innovations are waste gasification and methanol synthesis. Gasification breaks down waste into syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can then be converted into methanol—a key building block in the manufacture of plastics. These processes can turn up to 400,000 tons of waste into 220,000 tons of methanol annually, as exemplified by a project in Tarragona, Spain, involving Enerkem and Repsol.
This technological shift is not just about waste treatment; it redefines the role of waste as a valuable input in a circular industrial ecosystem. By capturing CO₂ and converting it into new materials, these companies aim to reduce reliance on virgin fossil resources while addressing the dual challenges of waste management and climate change.
Summa Equity also outlines the critical need for infrastructure investment—around €100 billion—to scale these technologies. This includes facilities for carbon-managed incineration, gasification plants, and the chemical processing of captured carbon into polymers and fuels. The projected market for such “waste-to-X” technologies, which includes sustainable aviation fuel and methanol, is expected to exceed €45 billion by 2040.
The European Union is implementing policy changes that require companies to use more recycled materials in products—particularly in plastic packaging. These regulations are designed to reduce dependency on virgin fossil-based materials and lower carbon emissions. One such policy mandates that a significant percentage of plastic packaging be made from recycled content by specific deadlines (e.g., 30% by 2030 in many cases).
In parallel, the EU is using financial tools to make environmentally harmful practices more expensive. For instance, incinerating plastic waste—which emits large quantities of fossil-based CO₂—is now subject to higher carbon pricing. It’s projected that this cost could rise to €300–400 per ton of plastic burned.
This pricing mechanism makes incineration less economically attractive, especially for plastics that could otherwise be chemically recycled or reused as feedstock in new production. As a result, companies are financially incentivized to invest in recycling infrastructure and technologies that can capture and convert carbon emissions into valuable materials, such as methanol for plastic production. This shift not only supports climate goals but also drives innovation and market competitiveness in sustainable materials.
Photo from SummaGroup
