PeroCycle lands UK and China partnerships to speed industrial carbon recycling

PeroCycle has struck strategic partnerships with PKU Pioneer and io consulting to advance its closed-loop carbon recycling technology toward pilot, demonstration and first commercial facilities. The move targets steel, cement and chemicals, where the company says the process could cut emissions, energy use and costs while easing the shift away from coal- and coke-based inputs.

Why it matters: - PeroCycle is positioning its carbon-recycling process as a lower-emissions path for heavy industry. - The technology targets foundation industries such as steel, cement and chemicals, where decarbonisation has been slow and expensive. - PeroCycle says the process could reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking by up to 90% while also cutting energy demand and cost. - The system can be added to new plants or retrofitted into existing facilities, which could reduce the risk of stranded assets.

What happened: - PeroCycle announced strategic partnerships with Beijing Peking University Pioneer Technology Corporation Ltd, known as PKU Pioneer, and with international engineering consultancy io consulting. - The company said the agreements will accelerate development and global commercialisation of its technology. - The announcement came on July 28, 2026, from Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom. - PeroCycle said the first partnership is a staged, multi-year agreement with PKU Pioneer covering design, construction and commissioning of PeroCycle’s first commercial-scale facility. - The second partnership gives io consulting a role in pilot plant development and later engineering work for a demonstration plant and a commercial facility.

The details: - PeroCycle’s patented technology was invented at the University of Birmingham. - The process uses a perovskite catalyst to split carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide at lower temperatures than traditional methods. - Captured CO2 is converted back into CO for reuse on site, creating a local circular carbon economy. - The company says the approach can displace fossil-based reducing agents such as coal and coke. - PKU Pioneer brings gas separation and purification expertise to the partnership. - PeroCycle said the UK-China pairing is well placed to address the decarbonisation needs of the world’s largest steel-producing regions. - io consulting will provide technical support through pilot plant development. - After the pilot stage, io consulting will handle Front End Engineering Design and Owner’s Engineer duties for a proposed 20ktpa CO2-treated demonstration plant. - The same plan calls for a 2mtpa CO2-treated first-of-a-kind commercial facility after the demonstration plant.

Between the lines: - The partnerships suggest PeroCycle is shifting from lab-scale development toward industrial deployment. - Aligning with established engineering firms may help the company reduce technical risk and reassure investors and industrial customers. - The emphasis on retrofit capability also signals a strategy aimed at existing heavy industry assets, not only new builds. - Grant Budge, PeroCycle’s CEO, framed the partnerships as a way to move the technology from the lab to commercialisation and to give steel-industry partners more technical certainty.

What's next: - PeroCycle will use the PKU Pioneer agreement to advance its first commercial-scale facility. - The company and io consulting will continue pilot development before moving into detailed engineering for the demonstration plant. - The demonstration and FOAK commercial projects will be the key tests of whether the technology can scale reliably. - The company is now focused on proving that heavy industry can cut emissions while improving operational efficiency and long-term costs.

The bottom line: - PeroCycle is betting that carbon recycling, paired with heavyweight engineering partners, can become a practical decarbonisation route for some of the hardest industrial sectors to clean up.