Canada’s Loop Industries (Terrebonne, Quebec; www.loopindustries.com) and SK Geo Centric (SKGC, Seoul; www.skgeocentric.com) have signed an agreement to formally establish a joint venture to commercialise Loop’s proprietary PET recycling technology in Asia, a move that followed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) June 2021.

As previously proposed, SKGC will take a majority 51% share of the venture, which will be headquartered in Singapore, with Loop holding remaining 49% plus annual royalties on each commercial plant built.

The partners are planning to erect their first facility, a 70,000 t/y Infinite Loop PET plant in Ulsan, South Korea, which is to produce material for packaging and fibre applications. Groundbreaking is expected this year, with construction to be completed by the end of 2025.

“We will strive for the successful completion of the advanced recycling complex in Ulsan, which will function as a significant steppingstone for a future expansion throughout Asia,” SKGC CEO Kyungsoo Na said.

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The venture has announced plans for another three plants across Asia by 2030, as a minimum. The companies are partnering with SK Group unit SK ecoengineering to provide engineering and construction services.

Asia is the largest global market for PET and polyester fibres and the centre of global manufacturing, which is an attractive opportunity for the venture, the companies said.

They added that 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 growing demand for recycled PET.

“By expanding Loop’s manufacturing footprint into Asia, our global CPG [consumer packaged goods] brand customers who use polyester fibre 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,” said Loop founder and CEO Daniel Solomita.

He added that Loop and SKGC have worked closely together for several years, with the companies complementing each other “very well” by providing different areas of expertise.