Murfitts Industries (Murfitts), which is a subsidiary of ETEL and the largest collector and processor of end-of-life tires in the UK, and ETIA, a subsidiary of Vow, have been working together for several years. The parties have developed a full industrial process, in which end-of-life tires are valorized into a premium recovered carbon black.

ETEL is an international tire and automotive service, maintenance, and repair group. It is a subsidiary of Itochu, one of Japan’s largest trading companies.

“Together with Murfitts, ETEL, and Itochu, we are forming a unique British-French-Japanese-Norwegian partnership. We see a huge opportunity for Vow technology and our combined competence and capacity in a rapidly emerging market. We have agreed to come together to offer a truly sustainable method for handling end-of-life tires and at the same time decarbonize the tire industry,” said Henrik Badin, CEO of Vow ASA.

Every year 30 million tonnes of end-of-life tires are generated globally. As of today, around 30 percent of the tire composition is pure carbon black, an important component in tire manufacturing. Virgin carbon black is produced by cracking fossil oil, a process that generates a large quantity of CO2. Today, all major tire manufacturers are looking to replace part of the virgin carbon black with recovered carbon black in tire production.

Pyrolytic oil and syngas, the two other products generated in the tire recovery process are valorized into low-carbon fuel or synthetic naphtha to generate new low-carbon molecules.

“The tire industry is facing a significant environmental challenge on a global scale, and a great opportunity is driven by circular economy incentives. We aim at deploying our solution firstly in Europe, North America, and Japan. Combined these regions represent a market of 8.6 million tons of end-of-life tires or more than 300 industrial tire recycling plants,” said Mark Murfitt of Murfitts.

The partnership between Vow and ETEL is defined and agreed upon in a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU is a continuation of more than two years of successful cooperation and joint operation of the first plant installed at Murfitts’ Lakenheath facility in the UK facility.

According to the MoU, the parties will develop a modularised and scalable industrial solution and value chain to turn end-of-life tires into recovered carbon black and clean energy. Vow will deliver its Biogreen reactor technology to the projects and to the companies that build, own, and operate the plants. ETEL has already identified the first three locations. Applications for building permits for these three sites are well underway.

For more information, please contact Henrik Badin, CEO, Vow ASA Tel: + 47 90 78 98 25 Email: henrik.badin@vowasa.com

Erik Magelssen, CFO, Vow ASA Tel: +47 928 88 728 Email: erik.magelssen@vowasa.com

About Vow Vow and its subsidiaries Scanship, C.H. Evensen and Etia are passionate about preventing pollution. The company’s world-leading solutions convert biomass and waste into valuable resources and generate clean energy for a wide range of industries.

Advanced technologies and solutions from Vow enable industry decarbonization and material recovery. Biomass, sewage sludge, plastic waste, and end-of-life tires can be converted into clean energy, low-carbon fuels, and renewable carbon that replace natural gas, petroleum products, and fossil carbon. The solutions are scalable, standardized, patented, and thoroughly documented, and the company’s capability to deliver is well-proven.

The company is a cruise market leader in wastewater purification and the valorization of waste. It provides technology and solutions which enable industries to transition towards a fossil-free future by converting biomass and waste into valuable resources and clean energy. The company also has strong niche positions in food safety and robotics, and in heat-intensive industries with a strong decarbonizing agenda.

Located in Oslo, the parent company Vow ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker VOW).

About ETEL European Tyre Enterprise Limited (ETEL) is an international tire and automotive service, maintenance, and repair business group. The company operates multiple retail brands including Kwik Fit with over 800 centers in the UK and Netherlands as well as Stapletons Tyre Services which sells over 6 million tires to trade customers in the UK.

ETEL’s primary purpose is to keep drivers safe on the road, and it achieves this by being the number one choice for its customers, a leading automotive aftermarket employer, and an acknowledged innovator in its industry.

The information is such that Vow ASA is required to disclose it by the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements under sections 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.