Mr. Ofer Vicus reports

ADURO AND ECOCE COMPLETE PHASE 1 FEEDSTOCK MAPPING, ADVANCE MEXICO PLASTICS COLLABORATION TO HCT TESTING

Aduro Clean Technologies Inc.'s collaboration with ECOCE AC has advanced to the next phase following completion of phase 1 feedstock mapping and stream selection. Selected postconsumer flexible plastic packaging streams in Mexico are moving into a Hydrochemolytic technology test campaign to evaluate their conversion into liquid hydrocarbon products for downstream circular plastics applications.

The collaboration, announced in December, 2025, is structured as a phased, data-driven evaluation of flexible plastic packaging collected through recovery systems in Mexico. Phase 1 drew on ECOCE's continuing national feedstock mapping program, conducted for its member companies, from which the parties completed the selection of candidate material streams for the next stage of work. Led by ECOCE, the mapping identified multiple postconsumer flexible packaging streams and assessed them for estimated availability, collection routes, physical form, contamination profile and preparation requirements. The work identified candidate streams with sufficient available volume to support an industrially relevant evaluation and with material characteristics that warrant advancement to HCT testing.

Flexible plastic packaging is one of the most difficult material categories to manage within existing recycling systems. These streams can include polyethylene, polypropylene and multilayer packaging formats, along with inks, adhesives, mixed structures, small formats and varying levels of contamination. In line with the waste hierarchy, reduction, reuse and mechanical recycling remain preferred options where they are technically and economically viable. For flexible packaging streams that are not well suited to mechanical or physical recycling, the collaboration is evaluating whether HCT can provide a route to recover hydrocarbon value from these materials and help return them to the plastics value chain.

ECOCE has identified flexible plastic packaging as a major and growing material category in Mexico, with available data indicating that approximately 1.5 million tonnes of flexible plastic packaging are generated annually in the country. Phase 1 has built on that market context by mapping candidate flexible and multilayer plastic packaging waste streams, including material categories, collection routes, geographic sourcing and indicative contamination levels. The materials mapped through phase 1 include flexible polypropylene packaging, flexible polyethylene packaging and multilayer flexible packaging, including common postconsumer formats such as snack and cookie wrappers, grocery and bread bags, seed and grain packaging, pet food packaging, cold-cut and dairy packaging, and resealable pouch formats.

ECOCE's work with leading food and beverage companies, representing more than 400 brands, gives the collaboration practical relevance to packaging value chain priorities and the need for credible circularity options for difficult-to-recycle flexible packaging. The objective is to build an evidence-based understanding of how selected flexible packaging streams can move through a circular value chain: from postconsumer collection and characterization, through feedstock preparation and HCT conversion, to liquid hydrocarbon products for evaluation by petrochemical and polymer value chains.

With phase 1 complete and the next-phase testing program defined, the collaboration moves into HCT testing of selected material streams. Aduro will begin with lab-scale evaluation to assess how selected Mexican flexible and multilayer plastic waste streams respond to HCT, including processability, product characteristics, yield, residues, contaminant behaviour and mass balance. As part of this next phase, Adrian Velasco, director of flexible plastic packaging at ECOCE, will visit Aduro facilities to review the testing pathway, sample requirements and pilot-scale development program. The visit will help align ECOCE's knowledge of recovery systems in Mexico with the company's technical evaluation process as selected streams move from feedstock mapping into HCT testing. Successful lab-scale results will inform progression to phase 3 testing on the next-generation process pilot plant to support scale-up assessment, customer evaluation and future commercial analysis.

"Phase 1 has moved this collaboration from a market opportunity into a defined technical feedstock program," said Ofer Vicus, chief executive officer of Aduro. "ECOCE brings practical insight into how flexible packaging moves through Mexican recovery systems, helping us select representative material streams for HCT testing. The next phase will generate the data that matters for scale-up and economics, including processability, product quality, yield, contaminant behaviour and the potential value of HCT-derived liquids as circular hydrocarbon feedstocks. This is how Aduro advances commercialization: by connecting real materials, downstream requirements, economic validation and a clear pathway from lab testing to the NGP pilot plant."

"Flexible plastic packaging is one of the most important material management challenges in Mexico," said Mr. Velasco, director of flexible plastic packaging at ECOCE. "Through this collaboration, ECOCE is helping connect real recovery system data with the technical work needed to evaluate circular solutions for these materials. My visit to Aduro facilities as the collaboration moves into HCT testing will allow us to review the testing pathway directly, align on sample requirements and better understand how selected Mexican flexible packaging streams could be evaluated for return to the plastics value chain."

Results from the next phase will give Aduro and ECOCE the technical and economic evidence to help assess material suitability, product quality, scale-up requirements and future commercial options for returning difficult-to-recycle flexible packaging to the plastics value chain.

About ECOCE AC

ECOCE is a non-profit civil association in Mexico created and supported by the food and beverage industry to promote the proper management, collection and recycling of postconsumer packaging waste. ECOCE brings together leading beverage and food companies, representing more than 400 brands, along with strategic allies working to advance circular economy practices for packaging in Mexico.

ECOCE works with industry, government, educational institutions, civil society and citizens to strengthen recycling culture, support proper separation and recovery of packaging materials, and help direct postconsumer packaging into recycling systems. As ECOCE expands its focus from PET and other established material streams to flexible plastic packaging, it brings practical knowledge of Mexico recovery systems, packaging formats, collection infrastructure and member company circularity priorities.

About Aduro Clean Technologies Inc.

Aduro Clean Technologies is a developer of patented water-based technologies to chemically recycle waste plastics; convert heavy crude and bitumen into lighter, more valuable oil; and transform renewable oils into higher-value fuels or renewable chemicals. The company's Hydrochemolytic technology relies on water as a critical agent in a chemistry platform that operates at relatively low temperatures and cost, a game-changing approach that converts low-value feedstocks into resources for the 21st century.

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