Ecolomondo Corporation has been chosen as a finalist for the 2023 Go Global Awards in the cleantech category, recognizing its efforts to commercialize its tire recycling technology.

The Montreal-based company is behind the Thermal Decomposition Process (TDP), which recycles end-of-life tires with pyrolysis to output carbon black, oil, gas, steel and fibre. Each reactor can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11,200 tonnes per year, according to the company.

It is developing two facilities, one in Hawkesbury, Ont. and the second in Shamrock, Texas, where it plans to recycle over 50,000 tonnes of tires per year.

Go Global, an awards program for businesses that have expanded operations globally, named Ecolomondo a finalist in the cleantech field.

"We are honored to be selected as a finalist for the 2023 Go Global Awards," Eliot Sorella, Ecolomondo’s president and CEO, said in a release.

"This nomination highlights our accomplishments to date and it demonstrates that our proprietary technology is trendsetting on a global scale. The event will provide a platform to showcase our organization to influential industry leaders and decision-makers.”

About Go Global

Go Global is held in Rhode Island and organized by the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation and the International Trade Council. The event brings together hundreds of companies and people from over 76 countries, a release states.

It awards companies with “export-ready products or services that have achieved significant success or market penetration in one or more international markets, or have garnered substantial investor and/or media interest.”

The awards ceremony will be held from Nov. 6-8, 2023 in Providence, giving Ecolomondo an opportunity to present in front of business executives, investors and government figures from over 30 countries, engage in B2B meetings and join a trade and investment program to support international expansion efforts, according to a release.

Go Global features 63 award categories, with sustainability-related examples like ‘Environmentally Conscious Exporter of the Year,’ energytech, offshore wind and cleantech.

Winners are selected based on factors like quality of the international expansion strategy, impact on the global business community and success in entering or succeeding in international markets.

Ecolomondo was also nominated for the 2023 Recircle Awards in the tire pyrolysis category.

Ecolomondo’s progress to date

Since SustainableBiz last covered Ecolomondo in March 2023, the company has continued increasing the capabilities of TDP. Its target was reaching 15,000-pound batches per reactor.

At its 46,200-square-foot Hawkesbury facility with two reactors, it boosted its batch payload to 15,000 pounds per production cycle in June 2023, compared to a 7,000-pound batch in January 2023 and 12,000 pounds earlier in June 2023. The recycling process produced 5,700 pounds of carbon black, 22 barrels of oil, 1,725 pounds of process gas, 1,931 pounds of steel and 846 pounds of fiber.

The company says it expects to increase the frequency of production cycles into full ramp-up after reaching its threshold.

In July 2023, Ecolomondo ran simultaneous production cycles across the two reactors, which it called a major milestone.

In August 2023, Reactor 1 of its TDP plant in Hawkesbury was certified by Ontario's Technical Standards and Safety Authority to use the syngas produced from the production cycle as an energy source for the reactors. Ecolomondo expects approval for Reactor 2 in the coming weeks. However, the company does caution that unforeseen issues may arise during testing.

The company offered details about its Shamrock facility, which was previously proposed. Ecolomondo plans to install six reactors to recycle 42,000 tonnes of tires per year to yield around 15,900 tonnes of carbon black, 128,100 barrels of oil, 5,400 tonnes of steel, 2,550 tonnes of fiber and 4,800 tonnes of syngas.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of Q4 with completion by the end of Q2 2025.

The cost of the factory is pegged at $124.4 million.