Todays Latest Updates: 30 April 2026

Biogas: Ireland. Stream BioEnergy Ltd is constructing an €80m biomethane plant in Little Island, Cork. When operational in 2027, the facility will process 90,000 tons of domestic and commercial food and garden waste per year. It will reduce GHG emissions by 40,000 tCO2e/annum, while delivering more than 80GWh of renewable biomethane annually to the Irish National Grid. Link 30/04/2026.

Methanol: China. Guangdong Liquid Sunshine selected Johnson Matthey (JM) as a technology partner for its first commercial-scale project – a biomethanol plant planned in Tiandong County, Guangxi. The Guangxi plant will demonstrate new technologies and innovation in gasification and the integration of renewable power systems. Johnson Matthey provides the methanol technology which converts gasified biomass waste into biomethanol. Link 30/04/2026.

Plastic recycling: The Netherlands. WPU, Vitol’s plastics recycling division, plans to build a new chemical recycling plant for end-of-life plastics in the port of Rotterdam, alongside Vitol’s refinery, VPR. The new plant will have the capacity to process 80,000 tonnes a year of post-consumer end-of-life plastic and is expected to be one of Europe’s largest chemical recycling plants. WPU (Waste plastic Upcycling) has developed the batch pyrolysis technology with which it will convert end-of-life plastic into pyrolysis oil. This is a circular feedstock for the production of circular chemicals, intermediates and new plastics that the plant will use to convert used plastic into pyrolysis oil. This is a circular feedstock for the production of circular chemicals, intermediates and new plastics, and can therefore serve as a substitute for fossil naphtha. Link 30/04/2026.

Policy: USA. NatureWorks urges the US government to impose tariffs on imported PLA resin and products, citing unfair trade practices by China, India, and Thailand that harm domestic manufacturing and suppress investment.Link 30/04/2026.

Policy: USA. Six months after news surfaced of planned US federal funding cuts for climate-oriented projects, the Trump administration has now decided to preserve or modify roughly 2,000 awards previously marked for cancellation. the US Department of Energy was presented to members of the House Appropriations Committee, outlining awards that are either to be retained or modified. Link 30/04/2026.