Chemical maker LG Chem (Seoul; www.lgchem.com) and US agricultural and biotech giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM, Decatur, Illinois; www.admworld.com) have formed two joint ventures to produce lactic acid and polylactic acid (PLA) in the US to meet growing demand for a variety of plant-based products that include bioplastics. The new production facilities are likely to be located in ADM’s hometown of Decatur, but a final decision is expected next year.

The first joint venture, GreenWise Lactic, is to have a capacity of 150,000 t/y of corn-based lactic acid. ADM, as majority owner, will contribute the fermentation capacity of the Decatur plants. The second joint venture, LG Chem Illinois Biochem, majority-owned by the South Korean company, will build a plant to produce about 75,000 t/y of polylactic acid, which will further process GreenWise Lactic’s products.

Both partners said they expect a final investment decision in the course of 2023, with construction likely to begin that year and production planned to start in late 2025 or early 2026. Around 125 new jobs are to be created.

Related: LG Chem plans to build technical centres in US, Germany

“LG Chem is the first Korean company to build a PLA plant with integrated production capacities from raw materials to the final product,” said company CEO Hak Cheol Shin. However, the polymer company is not only focusing on bioplastics: at the beginning of the year LG Chem acquired a stake in process developer Mura Technology (London; www.muratechnology.com), which specialises in chemical recycling (see Plasteurope.com of 24.01.2022). At the same time, LG Chem acquired a licence for the Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor Technology (Cat-HTR) chemical recycling process developed by Mura.

The market for lactic acid, which is used in bioplastics, food, and cosmetics, is estimated at around USD 2.9 bn (EUR 2.89 bn) in 2021, with an expected annual growth rate of 8%.