SK Geo Centric Co. Ltd. (SKGC), a division of the South Korean SK Group, and Loop Industries, Inc., a clean technology firm with the goal of advancing a circular plastics economy through the production of 100 per cent recycled polyester fibre and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, announced that they have signed a binding Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to introduce Loop’s technology into the Asian market through numerous industrial manufacturing facilities.
The company, which will have its headquarters in Singapore, will be owned by SKGC to the tune of 51 per cent, with Loop holding the remaining 49 per cent of the shares. According to the JVA, for a predetermined amount of time, the venture will have the sole right to commercialise Loop’s technology in Asia, and Loop will licence its technology in exchange for an annual royalty for each of the commercial plants.
It is anticipated that work will begin on the first Infinite LoopTM technology commercial manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea, in 2023, and that it will be finished by the end of 2025.
This facility will have an annual capacity to supply 70,000 metric tonnes of LoopTM PET resin for packaging and polyester fibre applications.
The two partners have laid out plans that call for the construction of at least three other commercial production facilities around Asia by 2030, in addition to Infinite LoopTM Ulsan. In order to design and build the industrial manufacturing facilities, Loop and SKGC have teamed up with SK ecoengineering, a division of the SK Group that has a lot of experience as an EPC contractor.
Asia is the world’s largest market for PET plastic and polyester fibre and is home to most of the world’s factories, making it a desirable location for the business. By bringing genuine circularity to PET plastic and polyester fibres, Loop’s technology might lessen the negative environmental effects of petrochemical misuse and plastic waste on a worldwide scale.
Loop’s technology has the potential to transform the Asian PET plastic and polyester fibre market by converting low-value PET plastic and polyester fibre waste into 100 per cent recycled virgin-quality LoopTM PET resin, reducing reliance on finite resources as well as adverse environmental effects like air and water pollution.
“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 a future expansion throughout Asia.” said Kyungsoo Na, the CEO of SKGC.
“We are extremely proud to partner with SKGC to create an infinitely recyclable and globally accessible circular economy for PET plastic and polyester fibre,” said Loop Founder and CEO Daniel Solomita.
