Vreeken (48) joined Black Bear Carbon in January 2020 in the position of Chief Technology Officer. before that, he worked at Avantium, active in the emerging industry of renewable and sustainable chemistry, where he most recently was Chief Operations Officer for Renewable Polymers business. Prior to that he held various positions at DSM both in operations and commerce. “I am excited to take this role and work with such competent and capable team to develop the company further”, he says. “Black Bear is ready to roll-out its technology for recovering carbon black from end-of-life tires and realize that significant contribution to the circular economy.”
Black Bear plans to lead the transition towards a circular economy for tires by rolling out hundreds of tire upcycling plants with local partners around the world, focusing on Europe for its next plants. It recovers carbon black from used tires in a clean and sustainable way. Current manufacturers produce carbon black by combusting oil, emitting COâ‚‚ and thereby polluting the environment. When Back Bear reaches its full potential of repurposing every end-of-life tire with its circular solution, Black Bear will reduce global annual oil consumption by more than 215 million barrels.
In mid-May, the company announced that it had raised €7.5 million to build its first flagship plant at the Chemelot industrial park in Geleen, The Netherlands.
Image: Carsten Schlipf/Shutterstock
