Wastefront, a Norwegian company aiming to recycle conclude-of-life tires, was facing an urgent need for emergency capital on Thursday, February 26, 2026, after a planned investment fell through at the last minute, according to Jon Gausen, the company’s chairman.
Gausen stated that a potential industrial buyer cancelled a deal on Saturday, February 22nd, despite a year of negotiations. “We needed the money tomorrow,” he said, indicating the precarious financial position of the company. The collapse of the deal necessitated a rapid devaluation of assets to secure emergency funding, he added.
Wastefront had previously announced plans to construct a £100 million facility in Sunderland, England, which would be the UK’s first large-scale waste tire processing facility dedicated to the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) value chain. The company had secured a collaboration agreement with VTTI, an energy storage company, in July 2023, to explore building tire recycling plants at eight of VTTI’s international ports. The Sunderland plant was intended to be the first step in this global expansion.
The July 2023 agreement involved an investment of up to $43 million (approximately 450 million Norwegian kroner) from VTTI’s owners: Vitol, IFM Investors, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Wastefront’s technology aims to avoid landfilling or incineration of used tires, instead converting them into valuable resources.
Founded in 2019, Wastefront’s founders include Inge Berge, Christian Hvamstad, and Vegard Bringsjord. The company also brought on Henrik Selstam, an engineer previously involved with Quantafuel’s plastic recycling technology, and Maria Moræus Hanssen as chair of the board.
The Sunderland plant was positioned as a key component in the UK’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but the recent loss of the industrial buyer casts doubt on the project’s future. As of Thursday, February 26th, Wastefront was actively seeking modern international investors to salvage the plan.
