Aduro Clean Technologies (NASDAQ:ADUR) Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Ofer Vicus said the company is advancing its chemical recycling and heavy crude upgrading technologies as it moves from pilot operations toward its first industrial-scale unit.
In a company presentation, Vicus described Aduro as a public technology developer built around a platform the company calls Hydrochemolytic Technology, with applications in chemical recycling of waste plastics, upgrading heavy crude into lighter crude, and potential renewable fuel production. He said the company has developed intellectual property around the platform, including about 10 patents and several applications.
Aduro positions chemolysis as alternative to pyrolysis
Vicus framed Aduro’s approach as a next-generation alternative to pyrolysis, the dominant chemical recycling method used for plastics that cannot be processed through mechanical recycling.
He said mechanical recycling remains the first option for waste plastics but rejects large amounts of material due to contamination, mixed composition or other processing issues. Aduro is targeting that rejected stream, which Vicus said is otherwise often destined for landfill.
According to Vicus, many pyrolysis-based systems require some form of hydrogenation and face challenges related to contamination tolerance, hydrogen management and fuel production. He said fuel output can create regulatory and carbon-related penalties, while Aduro’s chemolysis process is designed to produce higher-value circular feedstocks without requiring hydrogen.
“Currently, it’s only Aduro that [is] producing an alternative right now in the chemolysis space,” Vicus said, adding that he believes Aduro’s system has advantages in contamination tolerance, yield and scalability.
Vicus said global society produces roughly 400 million tons of plastic each year, in addition to existing accumulated plastic waste. He said current chemical recycling companies address only a small portion of the market, while Aduro’s opportunity lies in plastics that are not suitable for mechanical recycling.
Pilot operations underway in Ontario
Aduro’s pilot unit is operating at the company’s lab in London, Ontario, Vicus said. The company is increasing operating periods from one day to multiple days, with the goal of eventually running the pilot indefinitely and testing a wide range of plastics and crude feedstocks in multiweek campaigns.
Vicus said the pilot has shown positive early performance, including chemistry that is “happening,” higher yields and data the company likes. He said there remains optimization work to complete but added that Aduro does not currently see “any red lights” that would prevent it from moving to the next phase.
The company is initially targeting simpler plastic waste streams such as agricultural waste, marine waste and synthetic turf. Vicus said these applications could help Aduro generate revenue sooner while the company gathers data needed to process more complex waste streams over time.
First industrial unit planned for the Netherlands
Vicus said Aduro has selected a site in the Netherlands at a chemical hub he referred to as Brightland Camelot for its first-of-a-kind industrial unit. He said one customer is located about 50 meters away and could be reached by pipeline, while other potential customers are within about 50 kilometers.
The company is working with engineering, permitting, construction and equipment partners as it advances the project, Vicus said. He said Aduro is ordering long-lead items and expects the unit to be operational in late 2027 or early 2028.
Vicus said partners include one he identified as Total, which he described in the presentation as one of the largest pipe producers in the world. He said Aduro is working on recycling complex materials used in hot and cold water pipes, as well as smaller applications such as synthetic turf and agricultural waste.
Heavy crude and paraffinic crude applications
Beyond plastics, Vicus highlighted Aduro’s work in energy markets, including the potential to upgrade heavy crude and treat paraffinic, or waxy, crude. He described paraffinic crude as high-value material that is difficult to move because it requires heating from production through transportation and terminal handling.
Vicus said Aduro has demonstrated at lab scale that it can reduce the waxiness of paraffinic crude, potentially making it pipelineable and broadening its market access. He called the application an extension of the company’s plastics recycling know-how and said Aduro is building a continuous-flow unit for further development.
He said paraffinic crude accounts for roughly 20% to 30% of crude used globally and pointed to a Utah basin near the company’s region as one potential market, saying it produces about 175,000 barrels.
Balance sheet and commercialization focus
Vicus told investors that Aduro has no debt and described the company’s capital structure as “straight and clean.” He said the company has about CAD 40 million in the bank and is funded for its immediate goals.
He said Aduro’s focus in 2026 and 2027 will be execution, including expanding pilot operations, building industrial-scale capabilities, adding engineering and operations personnel, and developing a team in the Netherlands to support the first industrial unit.
“For 2026 and 2027, which is really again transformable years for us, basically our goal is to run the pilot to a level that we could basically test any crude with any plastic waste,” Vicus said.
About Aduro Clean Technologies (NASDAQ:ADUR)
Aduro Clean Technologies, Inc is a development‐stage clean energy company that designs, develops and seeks to commercialize modular process systems for the production and purification of hydrogen. Listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker ADUR, the company focuses on low‐emission solutions to support the emerging hydrogen economy, including renewable fuel applications, energy storage and industrial gas supply. Aduro Clean Technologies aims to address the growing demand for high‐purity hydrogen across mobility, power generation and chemical processing sectors.
The company’s core technologies include its H2-Conductor platform, a membrane‐based system engineered to separate and purify hydrogen from mixed gas streams, and its H2-Integrate suite of modular reactors capable of producing hydrogen from various feedstocks.
