PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) executives used a Roth Capital conference fireside chat to discuss progress at the company’s Ironton, Ohio recycling facility, the timeline and structure of its next plant in Thailand, and how management is approaching commercialization and evolving regulation around recycled plastics.
Ironton ramp and operational learnings
CEO Dustin Olson said the company has made substantial progress since becoming public and constructing Ironton during the COVID period, describing the process of scaling a “transformative” technology as challenging but increasingly de-risked over time. Olson noted that PureCycle has commercialized Ironton, proven the technology works, and produced end products from the plant’s output.
During the discussion, the moderator referenced the plant operating at roughly 60% utilization. Olson said Ironton has been running “pretty successfully” at an 8,000 to 10,000 pounds-per-hour level with “pretty good quality,” adding that the company has reached higher rates for a period of time in the past. He also said an outage in April will include projects intended to incrementally improve quality and enable higher production levels.
Olson framed Ironton as a foundation for future builds, saying the lessons learned—despite difficulties over the last several years—have been integrated into next-generation plant designs.
Thailand: shift to wholly owned facility and timeline
Olson said PureCycle’s long-term goal has been to grow beyond initial commercialization into a global footprint, noting that many customers are interested in global supply and consistent product quality across regions. He argued that PureCycle’s process is less dependent on feedstock quality than conventional approaches, which he said makes global supply discussions more feasible.
On Thailand, Olson said the company had previously considered a joint venture with IRPC but ultimately moved to a wholly owned facility located at IRPC’s site. He said PureCycle expects to benefit from integrated operations and utilities and “lower CapEx per pound,” while retaining 100% equity ownership.
Olson provided a high-level schedule:
- Mechanical completion expected at the end of next year
- Product expected as the company “roll[s] into 2028,” with ramping during 2028
He also highlighted the project execution team, saying IRPC has loaned an entire project team and that the group recently completed a $400 million diesel project with the same engineering organization. Olson said he expects the Thailand plant to have “slightly lower” fixed costs, “about neutral” variable costs, and low capital intensity, which he characterized as supportive of strong profitability.
Commercialization: longer adoption cycle and 2026 expectations
Olson said bringing a new recycled polypropylene product into the market has required navigating regulatory and customer qualification processes that are unfamiliar to many stakeholders. He said regulators and customers are still learning how to categorize PureCycle’s output, particularly as terminology across the recycling landscape has evolved.
He described customer qualification as a multi-step process—from initial pellet evaluation to pilot testing and scaling into commercial and industrial use—and said PureCycle’s novelty adds steps and time. Olson said the company has underestimated the length of the adoption process, while maintaining that the product’s performance is demonstrably strong.
As examples of demonstrated applications, Olson said the company has produced items including yogurt cups, automotive bumpers, film, and cups used for the national championship game. He characterized 2025 as a year in which PureCycle proved its product could work across many applications, but said broader customer adoption remained slow due to distractions such as inflation, tariffs, and reformulation initiatives. Looking ahead, Olson said the company expects customers to re-engage in 2026, with more R&D spending, packaging changes, and increased sustainability efforts driven in part by regulatory timelines.
Regulatory backdrop: positioning versus chemical recycling
Olson said regulatory developments are an important tailwind, particularly where rules “downgrade” or “deselect” chemical recycling. He highlighted New Jersey as an example of a state that recognizes “physical plastic-to-plastic solutions” but not chemical recycling, calling that distinction a meaningful positive for PureCycle over the long term.
At the same time, Olson said PureCycle was initially “lumped into” chemical recycling in part because terminology was not well established when New Jersey’s framework was developed. He said the company believes it was misinterpreted on a specific component and is working with the state to address it, describing state officials as collaborative. Olson added that other states developing recycling rules later have the benefit of clearer terminology, and said PureCycle has APR certification that many states are beginning to use as a gating requirement.
Gen 2 scaling: higher capacity and lower cost targets
Olson said one of the company’s most significant forward-looking initiatives is “Gen 2,” a higher-capacity facility design informed by work at the company’s Durham, North Carolina R&D center and engineering studies. He said PureCycle believes it can build a 500 million-pound-per-year plant “without tech risk.”
He outlined expected improvements versus Ironton, including lower capital intensity and scale efficiencies. Olson said PureCycle estimates Gen 2 CapEx per pound could fall into a $1.25 to $1.50 range, compared with Ironton’s approximately $3.50 per pound. He also said operating costs could decline meaningfully as capacity scales, since staffing and equipment needs do not rise linearly with plant size. Olson argued these changes could bring production costs closer to virgin polypropylene, potentially enabling strong margins alongside sustainability benefits.
While acknowledging near-term focus on commercialization and customer qualification, Olson said the company’s risk profile has improved materially compared with five years ago, and he pointed to the operational, R&D, and commercial infrastructure built around the core technology as positioning the company for future scaling.
About PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT)
PureCycle Technologies, Inc operates as a recycling technology company focused on restoring waste polypropylene to a “virgin-like” state through a proprietary purification process licensed from Procter & Gamble. The company develops, owns and operates recycling facilities that convert used polypropylene feedstock—such as packaging and industrial plastics—into ultra?pure recycled resin. This resin, known as Qualified Recycled Polymer (QRP), is designed to meet stringent quality specifications for applications in packaging, consumer goods and industrial products.
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, PureCycle was established with technology development efforts dating back to licensing agreements in the mid-2010s and later spun off as a publicly traded entity in 2021.
