Steam Thermolysis for Circular Tyre Recovery in Spain
We convert end-of-life tyres into recoverable secondary material streams using a controlled steam-thermolysis process.
ThermoSteam is a women-led Spanish deep-tech startup preparing the first Spanish reference project to prove three outcomes in one place: continuous operation, permitting and emissions compliance, and buyer acceptance of recovered products under EU-aligned methods.
Recognition
Winner of Prix La Chambre 2026 — Startup Award
ThermoSteam was recognised by La Chambre for its innovative approach to circular tyre recovery and its relevance for the Spanish-French industrial ecosystem.
Awarded in Madrid in 2026, this recognition adds external validation from a leading French-Spanish business community.
Why Spain needs a material-recovery route for tyres
- End-of-life tyres do not biodegrade and create persistent environmental and safety risks when stored or landfilled.
- Energy recovery destroys material value and increases reliance on virgin fossil inputs.
- In the EU, REACH Regulation (EU) 2023/2055 restricts intentionally added microplastics from 17 October 2023. For granular infill used on synthetic sports surfaces, an eight year transition applies and placing granular infill on the market will be prohibited from 17 October 2031, creating long term uncertainty for some rubber crumb outlets and strengthening the case for higher value material recovery routes.Spain already has regulated collection and large annual volumes of end-of-life tyres, but high-value material recovery is still limited.
- The opportunity is to keep carbon materials in industrial loops with consistent quality and auditable compliance.
What circular tyre recovery means in practice
Circular recovery means converting end of life tyres into measurable secondary material streams that industrial buyers can test, qualify and reuse, rather than only extracting energy from waste.
How common routes differ
- Shredding: often creates lower value outputs and faces increasing regulatory scrutiny in some rubber crumb applications, alongside microplastic related concerns.
- Co-processing (cement kilns): recovers energy, but destroys material value and locks the tyre into a one-way pathway.
- Conventional tyre pyrolysis: can deliver conversion, but output consistency and buyer qualification often limit industrial reuse, especially for applications requiring documented specifications.
- Material recovery (ThermoSteam focus): aims to produce buyer-qualified secondary raw materials for industrial reuse.
ThermoSteam focuses on repeatable product streams designed for industrial testing and buyer qualification.
Our solution: a controlled steam thermolysis process
How the technology works and why it matters for deployment
ThermoSteam uses a controlled thermochemical conversion process where shredded tyres are processed in superheated steam under controlled reactor conditions.
Vapours are condensed and separated into product streams, while the solid carbon material is finished for downstream qualification.
What matters commercially is not only conversion, but repeatability: stable operating conditions, documented characterisation, and a quality protocol that buyers can trust. This is why our next step is a Spain reference demonstrator designed to lock permitting, emissions monitoring, and buyer acceptance KPIs under Spanish conditions.
Controlled Reactor Conditions
Supports stable conversion conditions inside the reactor, helping reduce process variability and output.
Uniform Heat Transfer
Steam supports consistent heat distribution across shredded feedstock, helping reduce output variability.
Repeatable Output
Steam flow provides a direct control lever supporting consistent product characteristics for buyer qualification.
Why steam supports repeatable output
Controlled reactor conditions support stable conversion conditions. Steam provides uniform heat transfer across shredded feedstock, helping to reduce output variability compared with conventional tyre pyrolysis routes.
Controlled steam flow provides a direct process lever for consistent product characteristics, which is essential for buyer qualification and QA design. The objective is not a one time yield result, but predictable product streams that can be specified, tested, and accepted by industrial buyers.
From a commercial perspective, the key factor is not only conversion, but repeatability under controlled operating conditions. This is why our next step is a Spain reference demonstrator designed to validate permitting, emissions monitoring, and buyer acceptance KPIs under Spanish conditions.
Why steam supports process control and repeatability
ThermoSteam uses steam as a process control medium, not only as a heat source. The principles below explain how steam based conversion supports stable operation, product consistency, and downstream qualification for industrial deployment.
The outcome we optimise for is not a one time yield result, but repeatable product streams that can be specified, tested, and accepted by industrial buyers.
For tyre operators and recycling companies in Spain
Turn residual tyre fractions into recoverable circular material streams without building a greenfield plant. If you have regulated feedstock access and an operating site, we can work toward a host-site agreement for the first Spanish reference unit.
What you gain:
- A structured pathway to material recovery аthrough a compliance-first demonstrator programme.
- A route to new revenue streams from recovered products, supported by buyer testing and acceptance criteria.
- A standardised deployment approach designed for replication across sites after the Spain reference proof.
What we are seeking now:
- A host operator to co-define the site integration scope and timeline for the 1,000 t/y demonstrator as part of the TRL 6–7 validation programme.
- A structured pilot MoU package covering site, feedstock, responsibilities, and schedule.
For research, testing, and certification partners
We are building a Spain reference dataset for industrial deployment. It will cover product characterisation, emissions monitoring, and an LCA ready measurement approach aligned with EU methods.
Areas for collaboration:
- Materials characterisation and QA and QC protocol development for recovered carbon.
- LCA and impact verification under monitored operation in Spain.
- Data engineering and process monitoring to support replication across partner sites.
Our goal:
Applied science with direct industrial uptake. Documented benchmarks that support buyer acceptance and permitting ready replication.
For investors and the startup ecosystem
ThermoSteam is a capital light deep tech deployment model. We scale through licensing and partner operated sites rather than owning plants.
What is validated:
- TRL 5 validation on real ELT feedstock, supported by documented product characterisation and laboratory campaign data.
What we are proving next in Spain:
- Permitting and emissions compliance pathway.
- Continuous operational KPIs on a Spain site.
- Buyer acceptance KPIs through structured testing and written commitments.
Our ambition is to turn the first Spanish reference unit into a replication engine for multiple partner-operated deployments.
ThermoSteam