Loop Industries, Inc., a clean technology company whose mission is to accelerate a circular plastics economy by manufacturing 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic and polyester fiber, and SK Geo Centric Co. Ltd. (“SKGC”), a subsidiary of the South Korean SK Group, today announced they have signed a definitive Joint Venture Agreement (“JVA”) to deploy Loop’s technology in the Asian market through multiple commercial manufacturing facilities. SKGC will own 51% of the venture, which will be headquartered in Singapore, and Loop will have the remaining 49% ownership. Under the JVA, the venture will have exclusive rights to commercialize Loop’s technology in the Asian market for a prescribed period and Loop will license its technology for an annual royalty for each of the commercial plants.
The first planned commercial manufacturing facility with Infinite Loop™ technology, located in Ulsan, South Korea, will have an annual capacity to supply 70,000 metric tons per year of Loop™ PET resin for packaging and polyester fiber applications, and is anticipated to break ground in 2023 and to have construction completed by the end of 2025. In addition to Infinite Loop™ Ulsan, the two partners have outlined plans which target a minimum of three additional commercial manufacturing facilities to be constructed throughout Asia by 2030. Loop and SKGC have partnered with SK ecoengineering, a subsidiary of the SK Group that brings a wealth of expertise as an EPC contractor, for the engineering and construction of the commercial manufacturing facilities.
Asia is the largest global market for PET plastic and polyester fiber and is at the center of global manufacturing, which is an attractive opportunity for the venture. Loop’s innovative technology can bring true circularity to PET plastic and polyester fibers, helping to mitigate the global environmental effects of petrochemical overuse and plastic waste. By converting low-value PET plastic and polyester fiber waste into 100% recycled virgin-quality Loop™ PET resin, Loop’s technology has the potential to transform the Asian PET plastic and polyester fiber market, helping reduce reliance on finite resources while also diminishing environmental impacts, such as air and water pollution. Deploying Loop’s technology in the Asian market would bring a much-needed shift to the way PET is managed and manufactured in the region, and will help meet the growing demand for recycled PET.
The signed JVA marks the next step in both partners’ commitment to reduce plastic waste and to accelerate a true circular plastics economy. This is a testament to Loop’s mission to provide infinitely recyclable virgin-quality Loop™ PET resin to a global market. For SKGC, this venture ushers in a new era of sustainable and circular practices into a market that is searching for environmentally friendly solutions. This JVA represents a major step towards creating a sustainable future by increasing the availability of recycled PET throughout the Asian market.
“It is a great pleasure to join into this meaningful partnership to commercialize Loop’s technology in Asia. We will strive for the successful completion of the advanced recycling complex in Ulsan, which will function as a significant stepping stone for future expansion throughout Asia.” said Kyungsoo Na, the CEO of SKGC. “Through this JV agreement, we expect the two partners to make a great leap towards the realization of a circular plastics economy and achieve our vision ‘Green for Better Life’.”
“We are extremely proud to partner with SKGC to create an infinitely recyclable and globally accessible circular economy for PET plastic and polyester fiber. Loop and SKGC have worked closely together for several years and the two companies compliment each other very well by providing different areas of expertise to achieve our common goal of bringing an end-to-end solution with a compelling value proposition to our customer base.” said Loop Founder and CEO Daniel Solomita. “By expanding Loop’s manufacturing footprint into Asia, our global CPG brand customers who use polyester fiber for textiles will have the opportunity to incorporate Loop branded material into their products and create circularity for their textile waste by recycling it at our manufacturing facilities.”
