Stena Recycling

What Stena Recycling does

Stena Recycling is a Swedish circular economy and waste management services company operating as a subsidiary of Stena Metallkoncernen (Stena Metall Group), the diversified conglomerate controlled by the Stenbeck family. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, the company runs a direct branch office network across seven European countries — Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Germany, and Italy — serving industrial and public-sector customers in manufacturing, automotive, infrastructure, healthcare, retail, process industry, end-of-life vehicles, and renewable energy. Its service portfolio spans collection and processing of plastics, paper, electronics, metals, batteries, and hazardous waste into high-quality raw materials sold to steel mills, metalworks, foundries, and paper mills worldwide. The company employs 1,001–5,000 people and is overseen by CEO Fredrik Pettersson, with Tony Gustafsson as CFO, Carl Forssén as COO/IT, and founder Sten A Olsson in the company history.

The company's core technology stack centers on specialized material separation and end-of-life processing rather than software. Two proprietary technology platforms anchor recent investment: the Blade Circularity Solution, a chemical separation process co-developed with Vestas through the CETEC project (initiated 2021) and co-funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, which separates wind turbine blade components (epoxy, carbon, PET foam, aluminium, glass fibre) for recycling; and an EV Battery Health Assessment capability that evaluates remaining battery capacity for second-life applications such as energy storage and forklifts. The company is investing over SEK 500 million ($54.5 million) to build one of Europe's largest battery recycling facilities in Halmstad, Sweden, and projects battery-related turnover exceeding $50 million within five to seven years against a global end-of-life EV battery market expected to reach $28 billion within a decade. Dedicated R&D is conducted through the Stena Nordic Recycling Center and Stena Recycling Lab.

Stena Recycling generates revenue predominantly through transaction-fee waste collection and recycling services, supplemented by a growing digital subscription stream (Customer Portal, Stena CO2 Impact for emissions tracking, automated CSRD and ESRS E1-6/E5-5 reporting) and professional services revenue from Stena Circular Consulting. Go-to-market is sales-led via the regional branch network, with self-serve enablement through the customer portal. Distribution is direct-to-enterprise with no disclosed channel partners. The company has secured regulated baseline demand through cooperation agreements with Autoretur Battery Recycling in Norway for EPR-compliant EV battery collection, and participates in the Vinnova-funded Smartports circular battery value chain project (2025–2028). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Stena Recycling is privately held within Stena Metall Group with no identified venture, private equity, or public equity investors at the recycling-subsidiary level.

Name

Stena Recycling

Legal name

Stena Metall AB

Website

https://stenarecycling.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Stena Recycling is a Swedish subsidiary of Stena Metall Group providing industrial waste collection, material recycling, and circular economy services across seven European countries, with growing investment in EV battery and wind turbine blade recycling.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling and Waste Management Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (42393)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Hazardous Waste Recycling & Recovery (Solvent Recovery, Oil Re-refining, Metals Recovery) (EUAIAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Battery Materials Refining & Re-Manufacturing Feedstocks (Li, Ni, Co, Mn, Graphite Salts) (EUAIAIAJ), Scrap Collection, Brokerage & Trading (Dealers, Aggregators, Exporters) (EUAIAJAH), E-Waste & Electronics Metal Recovery (ITAD, Circuit Boards, Precious Metal Recovery) (IMAKAMAG), Tires, Plastics & Glass Recovery from ELVs (Non-metal ELV Streams) (EUAIAJAK)

Keywords

• Industrial waste management
• EV battery recycling
• Metal recovery services
• Circular economy consulting
• Hazardous waste disposal

Headquarters

HQ city

Göteborg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Waste Collection and Recycling Services: Collection and processing of waste materials including electronics, metals, plastics, paper, hazardous waste, and end-of-life vehicles. Services include waste management, demolition, recycling, and material processing into high-quality raw materials sold to steel mills, metalworks, foundries, and paper mills worldwide.
2. Battery Recycling and Reuse Services: Specialized services for electric vehicle batteries including health assessments, second-life reuse preparation, and full recycling. The company projects battery-related operations will generate more than $50 million in turnover within five to seven years.
3. Digital Services: Digital services including customer portal, automated reporting for CSRD compliance, collection scheduling, and sustainability tracking including CO2 impact measurement.
4. Stena Circular Consulting: Strategic consulting services for circular economy solutions, helping businesses develop and implement circular practices that create environmental and business value.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stena Recycling collects, processes, and recycles industrial and commercial waste streams—including plastics, paper, electronics, metals, batteries, and hazardous waste—into high-quality raw materials sold to steel mills, metalworks, foundries, and paper mills. It complements these physical services with digital tools for CSRD/ESRS sustainability reporting, CO2 impact tracking, and Stena Circular Consulting advisory for circular business models. The company is also expanding into EV battery reuse and recycling at its Halmstad facility and wind turbine blade material recovery via the Blade Circularity Solution testbed with Vestas.

Product overview

Stena Recycling is a comprehensive circular economy and waste management company offering a broad portfolio of recycling and sustainability services. The company provides solutions organized by material type (Plastics, Paper, Electronics, Metals, Batteries, Hazardous waste, Alternative raw materials) and by industry vertical (Manufacturing, Public sector, End-of-life vehicles, Automotive, Retail, Process industry, Infrastructure, Healthcare). Core services include waste collection, recycling, and demolition, supported by digital services including Customer Portal, Stena CO₂ Impact for emissions tracking, and CSRD Reporting. The company also offers equipment rental (containers, compactors, bins), Stena Circular Consulting for advisory services, and specialized EV battery recycling and reuse services. Research capabilities are provided through the Stena Nordic Recycling Center and Stena Recycling Lab. The offering spans from operational waste management to strategic circular economy consulting, serving customers across Scandinavia, Nordic countries, Germany, Italy, and Poland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stena Circular Consulting: Expert consultants providing strategic advisory services for circular economy solutions and helping businesses develop and implement circular business models.
• Stena Nordic Recycling Center
• Stena CO2 Impact
• ReAppli

Products and services

• Waste Collection and Recycling Collection and recycling of waste materials, processed into high-quality raw materials at certified recycling facilities for sale to steel mills, metal foundries, and paper mills. Targeted at industrial and commercial waste generators across Europe.
• Demolition Services Expert dismantling of high-voltage equipment such as transformers and switchgear, recycled in an environmentally sound manner in compliance with all legal requirements. Serves infrastructure and industrial customers.
• Data Protection Management Secure destruction and management of sensitive data and materials. For organizations needing certified confidential waste handling.
• EV Battery Recycling Facility (Halmstad) Comprehensive recycling services for end-of-life electric vehicle batteries, including material recovery and health assessment, operated from one of Europe's largest battery recycling facilities in Halmstad, Sweden. Serves automotive OEMs, EV importers, and fleet operators.
• EV Battery Reuse Services Health checks and reuse preparation services for EV batteries, enabling second-life deployment in applications such as energy storage and forklifts before final recycling. Targeted at automotive and energy storage customers.
• Blade Circularity Solution Chemical separation technology for wind turbine blade materials (epoxy, carbon, PET foam, aluminium, glass fibre), enabling full material separation for recycling. Targeted at wind turbine OEMs and operators with end-of-life blade streams.
• Stena On-site On-site waste management and recycling services delivered at customer locations. Serves large manufacturers, retailers, and infrastructure operators.
• Stena Circular Consulting Strategic consulting services that help companies develop and implement circular solutions delivering environmental and business value. For enterprises pursuing circular economy transitions.
• Customer Portal Digital platform for customers to manage accounts, schedule collections, access reports, and track sustainability data including CO2 impact. For enterprise customers across all served verticals.
• Stena CO2 Impact Digital tool for tracking and measuring carbon dioxide impact from recycling and waste management activities. Supports sustainability reporting and CSRD compliance for enterprise customers.
• CSRD Reporting Automated sustainability reporting service providing waste sustainability data ready for CSRD and ESRS E1-6/E5-5 disclosure. For enterprises subject to EU sustainability reporting obligations.
• Waste Composition Analysis Analysis service determining the composition of waste streams to optimize recycling processes and maximize material recovery. For industrial and commercial customers seeking process optimization.
• ReAppli Application service for managing and optimizing recycling operations within customer processes. For enterprises seeking circular workflow integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Battery-related operations projected to generate over $50 million in turnover within 5-7 years

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• VestascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2026Vestas and Stena Recycling established a blade recycling testbed in Sweden called the 'Blade Circularity Solution,' scaling up chemical separation technology originally developed through the CETEC project initiated in 2021. The technology enables separation of blade materials including epoxy, carbon, PET foam, aluminium and glass fibre for recycling purposes. Co-funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, this represents a step toward Vestas's goal of delivering zero-waste wind turbines by 2040.
• Swedish Energy AgencysupportingOthers · 12 May 2026Swedish government energy agency providing co-funding for the Vestas-Stena Recycling blade recycling testbed project, supporting the development of chemical separation technology for wind turbine blade materials.
• SmartportscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2025Sweden supports Smartports and partners including Stena Recycling in a project to develop a circular battery value chain, funded partly by Vinnova, focusing on testing, upcycling, and recycling EV batteries, integrating them into solar and EV charging stations. Project runs from 2025 to 2028, aiming to position Sweden as an innovative European hub for circular battery technology.
• VinnovasupportingOthers · 27 November 2025Swedish government innovation agency providing partial funding for the Smartports circular battery value chain project involving Stena Recycling.
• Autoretur Battery Recycling (ABR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025Autoretur Battery Recycling, a newly established producer responsibility organization for high-energy batteries in Norway (wholly owned by the Norwegian Car Importers Association), signed cooperation agreements with Hydrovolt and Stena Recycling following a tender competition for collection and treatment of discarded electric vehicle batteries. This enables car importers to meet extended producer responsibility requirements under the new Battery Regulation.
• HydrovoltcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 November 2025Hydrovolt, a battery recycling company, partnered with Stena Recycling through cooperation agreements with Autoretur Battery Recycling for collection and treatment of discarded electric vehicle batteries in Norway.
• Create it REALsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2024Stena Recycling partnered with Create it REAL, a Denmark-based sustainable manufacturing company, to facilitate commercial-scale TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) recycling from 3D printing. The partnership supports the REPREX EU project in collaboration with FADDTORY, exploring circular business models including in-house waste reuse and subscription-based material return systems.
• FADDTORYsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2024FADDTORY collaborated with Create it REAL and Stena Recycling as part of the REPREX EU project, successfully demonstrating that 100% recycled TPU can produce orthopedic insoles with performance equal to virgin material.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• PreZero: Schwarz Group's environmental services division operating collection, sorting, and recycling of plastics, paper, metals, and hazardous waste across Europe — competes in nearly every material stream Stena serves.
• Renewi: European recycler specializing in waste collection and processing of multiple streams including hazardous waste, with operations in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, and Germany — a direct multi-stream competitor.
• Remondis: German-headquartered family-owned recycling and water services group with broad multi-material recovery, hazardous waste, and industrial services across Europe — a very close comparable to Stena's service portfolio.
• Veolia: Global leader in waste management and resource recovery, offering collection, recycling, and hazardous waste services across Europe and worldwide — directly comparable to Stena's multi-stream recycling platform.
• FCC Environment: Environmental services arm of FCC Group providing waste collection, treatment, recycling, and recovery services across Europe, with similar municipal and industrial customer base to Stena.
• SUEZ: Major European provider of waste collection, recycling, and materials recovery services; competes head-on with Stena across municipal, commercial, and industrial waste streams in continental Europe.

Emerging players

• Umicore: Belgian materials technology group with a major battery materials and recycling business; competes with Stena in the recovery of Li, Ni, Co, and in EV battery black-mass processing.
• Northvolt: Swedish battery cell maker building adjacent battery recycling capabilities (Revolt); an emerging competitor and potential partner in the European battery materials recovery space that Stena is targeting with Halmstad.
• Hydrovolt: Joint venture between Norsk Hydro and Northvolt operating Europe's first large-scale EV battery recycling plant; a direct emerging competitor in the same Norwegian battery EPR market Stena just won with Autoretur.

Regional players

• Boliden: Nordic metals miner and smelter that consumes recovered metals and competes for scrap feedstock; a regional player with overlapping metals-recovery economics relevant to Stena's metals trading and processing business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqY778PLsEWWpF0bokxvpvg/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/stenarecyclingab
• LinkedInse.linkedin.com/company/stena-recycling-ab
• Instagraminstagram.com/LifeAtStenaRecycling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stena Recycling