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Alterra, Technip Energies, and Neste launch Nerea, a standardized modular solution for plastic chemical recycling

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PARIS, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alterra (North America), Technip Energies, and Neste announce the commercial launch of Nerea™, a new type of industrial offering designed to accelerate the deployment of chemical recycling projects for plastic waste. By transitioning from bespoke engineering to a standardized product model, Nerea enables waste operators, project developers, refining and petrochemical players to scale circular plastic production with enhanced predictability.

Global plastics production has nearly doubled over the past two decades, reaching approximately 431 million tons in 2024. Circularity rates are not keeping pace with continuing consumption growth, resulting in significant volumes of plastic waste that still end up in incinerators, landfills or released into the environment. At the same time regulatory developments in Europe and elsewhere are driving stronger demand for recycled and circular feedstocks.

Nerea™ addresses this challenge by building on the collaboration agreement signed by Technip Energies, Alterra and Neste in November 2024 and bringing together Alterra’s thermochemical liquefaction technology, Neste’s circular feedstock expertise, and Technip Energies’ engineering, project delivery and modularization capabilities. Alterra’s technology has demonstrated more than five years of continuous commercial operation, processing real-world plastic waste streams.

Nerea™ has a standardized, modular design that minimizes pre-investment and reduces project complexity, while providing greater certainty in terms of cost and schedule. Designed for rapid deployment across various industrial environments, the Nerea plant converts heterogeneous and hard-to-recycle plastic waste into high-quality feedstock for the petrochemical industry.

Fred Schmuck, Chief Executive Officer at Alterra stated: “Nerea reflects a shared vision among our three companies: making circular solutions easier to deploy at industrial scale. By combining proven technology, industrial expertise and a standardized delivery model, we’re helping reduce the barriers that have traditionally slowed the growth of chemical recycling. Together with Technip Energies and Neste, we’re creating a more predictable and scalable pathway for transforming difficult-to-recycle plastics into valuable feedstocks for a circular economy.”

Julie Cranga, SVP Carbon capture & Circularity Product Line at Technip Energies, stated: “With Nerea, we are bringing together with our partners a proven technology, feedstock expertise and industrial delivery in a standardized offering, ready to deploy at scale. We are pleased to provide our clients with greater predictability and performance in development, investment and operations phase, helping to accelerate chemical recycling worldwide.”

Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President Technology & Innovation at Neste, stated: “Neste’s recently started upgrading unit in the Porvoo, Finland refinery is the world’s largest by capacity. We know how to turn low-quality raw materials into high-quality solutions and look forward to supporting industry scale-up with robust and easy-to-deploy technology to meet our own and others’ increasing demand for liquefied waste plastic.”

Alterra in brief
Alterra is the developer, operator, and licensor of a thermochemical liquefaction process technology that renews discarded plastic back into its original building blocks, thus minimizing reliance on new, fossil-derived materials for the manufacturing of new plastic products. Our Akron, OH plastics circularity facility is the only full-scale, continuous plant of its kind. Through the global deployment of our technology, we are Solving Plastic Pollution®. Read more: https://alterra360.com/

About Technip Energies
Technip Energies is a global technology and engineering powerhouse. With leadership positions in LNG, hydrogen, ethylene, sustainable chemistry, and CO2 management, we are contributing to the development of critical markets such as energy, energy derivatives, decarbonization, and circularity. Our complementary business segments, Technology, Products and Services (TPS) and Project Delivery, turn innovation into scalable and industrial reality.
Through collaboration and excellence in execution, our 18,000+ employees across 35 countries are fully committed to bridging prosperity with sustainability for a world designed to last.

Technip Energies generated revenues of €7.2 billion in 2025 and is listed on Euronext Paris. The Company also has American Depositary Receipts trading over the counter.

For further information: www.ten.com

About Neste
Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with production on three continents. The company’s renewables production capacity is expected to reach 6.8 million tons annually in 2027. Neste also produces high-quality oil products at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The company has a network of nearly 1,000 fuel stations with expanding service offering, such as EV charging, in Finland and in the Baltics.
Neste’s strategy focuses on growth in renewable fuels, which help its customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Neste is included in many international indices for its sustainability performance. In 2025, Neste’s revenue stood at EUR 19.0 billion.
Read more: neste.com

Inquiries
Alterra
Angela Sot
Marketing and Community Outreach Manager
Tel: +1 330 760 3311
Email: angela.sot@alterra360.com

Technip Energies

Investor Relations                                       

Media Relations

Phillip Lindsay                                         

Jason Hyonne

Vice-President Investor Relations                       

Press Relations & Social Media Manager

Tel: +44 207 585 5051                                       

Tel: +33 1 47 78 22 89

Email: Phillip Lindsay                                       

Email: Jason Hyonne

Neste

Neste’s media service, tel. +358 800 94025 / media@neste.com (weekdays from 8.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. EET).

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SOURCE Alterra

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Technology

U.S. Patented AC Shade Solves a Decades-Old HVAC Dilemma: How to Shade Condensers Without Restricting Airflow

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OKLAHOMA CITY, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For decades, homeowners and facility managers have faced a persistent HVAC paradox: shading an outdoor air conditioning condenser from the blistering sun improves efficiency, but standard physical barriers inadvertently restrict airflow. Traditional do-it-yourself shading methods—such as umbrellas, privacy screens, or makeshift awnings—frequently trap a pocket of stagnant, superheated micro-air around the unit. This restriction forces the condenser to work significantly harder, accelerating mechanical wear and negating the thermodynamic benefits of the shade itself. Today, AC Shades LLC officially announced the market launch of AC Shade, a revolutionary, scientifically verified technology that decisively solves this engineering dilemma.

The innovation centers heavily on precise thermodynamic science and a rigorous engineering partnership with Oklahoma State University (OSU). Recognizing the limitations of unscientific solutions, the AC Shades LLC development team collaborated with OSU’s premier engineering laboratories to validate and refine the system’s aerodynamic properties. Through exhaustive empirical testing and computational fluid dynamics modeling, researchers verified that the apparatus successfully mitigates solar radiation while maintaining an uncompromised environment for heat rejection.

“Our primary objective was to replace unverified visual fixes with solid, data-backed engineering,” said an AC Shades representative. “We are proud to finally offer a true solution.”

AC Shade utilizes a U.S. patented, airflow-safe structural architecture deliberately engineered to lower direct solar load without accumulating trapped thermal energy. Unlike flat barriers that suffocate equipment, this advanced geometry completely preserves the integrity of the condenser’s vital vertical exhaust plume. By isolating the equipment from harsh, direct sunlight while allowing high-velocity hot air to escape unimpeded, the system optimizes the ambient conditions required for proper refrigerant heat exchange.

This rigorous engineering foundation has drawn widespread acclaim from industry experts. Prominent HVAC professionals and mechanical engineers are endorsing the product, explicitly calling the aerodynamic design “genius” for its elegant resolution of a historically troublesome trade-off. Field tests confirm that by shielding the condenser from peak solar load without inducing static pressure penalties, the system supports lower operating temperatures and promotes operational longevity.

About AC Shades LLC 

AC Shades LLC is an innovative climate-solutions company dedicated to enhancing the efficiency and longevity of residential and commercial cooling systems. The company manufactures patented, airflow-safe shielding systems scientifically engineered to minimize direct solar load on HVAC condensers without trapping heat or restricting vital vertical exhaust. Learn more about the company on their website: https://cooleriscooler.com/

Contact Information:
Jeff Hill
417850@email4pr.com
(415) 465-3048

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SOURCE AC Shades LLC

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Actia AI Delivers “Agents That Mean Business™”

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Collaborative AI solution enables staff and AI agents to work side by side on everyday business tasks

EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Actia AI today announced the launch of the Actia platform, a business-focused collaborative AI solution that helps companies rapidly deploy AI agents for the workflows they run every day.

Built around the company’s launch message, Agents That Mean Business, the Actia platform is designed for organizations that want practical, operational AI agents rather than standalone chatbots or complex AI development projects. Out of the box, Actia agents act as independent AI actors that communicate with customers, support internal teams, escalate complex issues, and participate in business workflows.

“Businesses do not need bleeding-edge AI solutions,” said Mark Potts, Actia AI founder and CTO. “They need reliable digital coworkers they can quickly deploy to answer calls, handle customer requests, support their staff, and work with the systems and workflows they already use.”

The Actia platform is organized around four core pillars:

Actia Agents are voice-enabled AI workers that operate alongside company staff and communicate across phone, email, chat, and messaging.Actia Apps are shared applications where agents and staff collaborate on tasks including sales leads, service requests, customer bookings, and other configurable workflows.Actia Roles are pre-trained agent templates for roles such as sales assistant, service representative, or support technician, which companies can customize to match their own processes and playbooks.Actia Connect links agents to business processes companies already use, allowing them to participate in established workflows rather than operate in isolation.

The Actia platform lets companies control the level of responsibility they delegate to AI. With adjustable autonomy, agents can handle routine tasks independently while flagging complex or sensitive cases for human review. As confidence grows, companies can expand an agent’s responsibility and decision-making authority.

Collaboration happens in a shared workspace, accessible via desktop and mobile, where staff and agents work side by side. Team members can monitor agent performance, interact through chat and messaging, review escalations, and answer agent questions when human input is needed.

Unlike usage-heavy AI platforms that can be difficult to budget, Actia AI offers predictable tiered pricing intended to make AI agent adoption simpler for business buyers. Tiers are structured around clear capacity levels and flat monthly fees, with no long-term contracts.

“The Actia platform opens the door for broader AI agent adoption in regular businesses,” said Potts. “Actia AI gives companies a practical way to leverage AI agents without hiring costly experts, undertaking complex integration projects, or giving up human oversight.”

Actia AI has opened platform access at www.actia.ai where interested companies can apply to join the early-access cohort.

About Actia AI
Actia AI is the collaborative AI agent platform for everyday business operations. Based in Emeryville, California, the company helps organizations deploy multi-channel AI agents that work alongside their existing staff. Actia’s hybrid AI technology blends precise, data-friendly computer code with human-friendly AI vector embeddings to support seamless collaboration between automated digital workforces and existing human staff. Built for businesses that want operational, budget-friendly AI rather than complex tools and open-ended usage bills, Actia AI makes capable AI coworkers something any company can put to work in an afternoon.

Media Contact
Candace Weekly
Press Relations
417744@email4pr.com
(855) 850-2337 ext 105
www.actia.ai

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actia-ai-delivers-agents-that-mean-business-302814129.html

SOURCE Actia AI

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Education Couture Launches $100,000 Summer Lux Learner Unlock Event to Keep Students Engaged in Learning

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CHICAGO, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Education Couture has launched its More Than $100,000 Summer Lux Learner Unlock Event, a literacy initiative designed to motivate students to continue reading and learning throughout the summer by rewarding educational engagement with premium student incentives.

Hosted through the Lux Learner platform, the initiative encourages students to complete reading and vocabulary activities to earn points that unlock access to more than $100,000 in retail-value student rewards.

The program was created to help combat summer learning loss by making literacy engaging, interactive, and rewarding.

“We know many students disengage from learning once school ends,” said Ruckiya Ross, founder of Education Couture. “Our goal is to reconnect reading with excitement, curiosity, and achievement by creating an experience students genuinely want to participate in.”

Students earn points by watching Word Bank vocabulary videos, learning new academic vocabulary, reading inside the app, completing chapter quizzes, and maintaining consistent participation.

The Summer Unlock Event also introduces Quantum Keisha, the first novel in the Keisha Bell series, allowing students to earn additional points through recreational reading and comprehension activities.

As students accumulate points, they unlock access to premium Lux Learner apparel releases while supplies last. The collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, cardigans, and limited-edition garments with retail values reaching into the hundreds of dollars.

“These rewards represent more than clothing,” Ross said. “They represent effort, consistency, curiosity, and a commitment to learning. We want students to recognize that their hard work has real value.”

Designed in Chicago and produced through manufacturing partners trusted by leading luxury fashion houses, the Lux Learner apparel collection reflects Education Couture’s vision of creating an earned luxury experience that celebrates academic achievement.

Participation in the Summer Lux Learner Unlock Event is free. Students who unlock merchandise may claim eligible items by covering a reduced fulfillment fee for shipping and administrative costs.

Features of the Summer Unlock Event include interactive vocabulary instruction, recreational reading, chapter quizzes, literacy challenges, student achievement tracking, and premium earned-access apparel rewards.

Education Couture plans to conclude the initiative with a Back-to-School Celebration, recognizing students for their summer learning achievements and announcing recipients of the program’s featured grand prizes, including the $1,000 Chicago Consistency Award and the $500 Community Choice Award.

The Summer Lux Learner Unlock Event is available now at www.LuxLearner.fun.

Media Contact
Ruckiya Ross
Education Couture
417825@email4pr.com                                 
773.985.7444

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/education-couture-launches-100-000-summer-lux-learner-unlock-event-to-keep-students-engaged-in-learning-302814379.html

SOURCE Education Couture

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