The Municipal Sanitation Company of Cordoba (Sadeco) has awarded the Basque company Nantek, specialized in the transformation of plastic waste into biofuels, the construction of the innovative industrial complex that will process the thousands of tons of plastics that arrive each year at the Environmental Complex of Cordoba ( … CMC) and this will mean a total investment of 65 million.
It is one of the projects that are part of the so-called green pole (Sadeco 5.0) of the municipal company. The constitution of the surface right is made for a total of 30 years with an option to expand by ten more.
In a press release, the Basque company indicated that it would thus become the first European company to obtain a public call for tenders for elimination of plastic waste. These tonnes of plastic will be entirely transformed into second-life petrochemical raw materials, with their corresponding economic valorization.
Nantek indicated that with this pioneering action, Córdoba anticipates future European obligations by avoiding the additional costs that will be faced by municipalities that continue to bury plastic waste, thus becoming, probably in 2027, one of the first European municipalities to reach the milestone of “Zero plastic discharge”.
Likewise, as he added, the Cordoba initiative strengthens the European plastics strategycontributing to the decarbonisation and energy independence of Europe by converting waste into useful energy and raw materials.
The Nantek project, in collaboration with Sadeco and the Cordoba City Hall, should begin in the second half of 2026 within the Sadeco environmental complex facilities, on a plot of land of 10,000 square meters, one hectare.
16,000 tonnes per year
THE initial investment of the Nantek project will reach 22 million euros, intended for the construction of a factory which will process up to 16,000 tonnes per year plastic waste collected in the city.
In a second phase, and as the needs of the municipal enterprise progress, it is planned that the complex will increase the number of industrial reactors necessary for the processing of plastic materials, to reach a processing capacity of more than 54,000 tonnes of plastic waste per year. This second phase would involve an additional investment of an additional 43 million euros, bringing the total investment to 65 million euros.
Nantek, in collaboration with the consulting firm Mount Street Group, in particular with its Madrid branch, is studying different financing alternatives for the plant in its different phases.
The initiative will generate 25 new jobs in the first phase, gradually increasing up to 150 direct jobs and more than 300 indirect, between suppliers, ancillary services and logistics, once the expansion of the industrial facility is complete.
According to CEO Carlos Uraga, Córdoba will be one of the most advanced cities in the world in the transition “towards sustainable, efficient and self-sufficient waste management”. According to this official, the Nantek project “will strengthen the leadership of the Andalusian municipality in terms of environmental innovation”, attraction of industrial investments and the creation of green jobs, anticipating the new economy of energy recycling.
Pyrolysis is a process of thermal degradation of a substance in the absence of oxygen, this substance is therefore decomposed by heat, without combustion. In the case of Sadeco, it is planned to be used to produce pyrolytic oil (suitable for sale to energy companies), “chart” (similar to coal) or biogas.
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