RCS - Loop Industries - Loop Industries & Ester Creating Facility in India

MicrosoftAnnouncement

02/05/2024 08:15

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RNS Number : 9341M  Loop Industries  02 May 2024

Loop Industries and Ester Industries Ltd. Announce Joint Venture Agreement to
Build an Infinite Loop(TM) Manufacturing Facility in India to Produce rDMT,
rMEG and Specialty Polymers From Waste Polyesters with a Significantly Lower
Carbon Footprint

·      Levers the existing Infinite Loop™ technology to target
undersupplied US$28 billion market for DMT and MEG

·      High projected returns based on total capital investment of
approximately US$165 million, favourable industry pricing and low operating
cost environment

·      Construction of the facility is expected to be complete at the
end of 2026 with commercial operations commencing in early 2027

MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / May 1, 2024 / Loop Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOOP)
(the "Company" or "Loop"), a clean technology company whose mission is to
accelerate a circular plastics/fiber economy by manufacturing 100% recycled
polyethylene terephthalate ("PET") plastic and polyester fiber, today
concluded an agreement with Ester Industries Ltd. ("Ester"), one of India's
leading manufacturers of Polyester Films and Specialty Polymers, to form a
50/50 India joint venture ("India JV"). The purpose of the India JV is to
build and operate an Infinite Loop™ India manufacturing facility which will
produce a unique product offering of lower carbon footprint recycled dimethyl
terephthalate ("rDMT"), recycled mono-ethylene glycol ("rMEG") and specialty
polymers in India, using the Infinite Loop™ technology which offers
significant advantages over traditional mechanical PET recycling.

Photo: Arvind Singhania, Chairman and CEO of Ester Industries Ltd. and Daniel
Solomita, Founder and CEO of Loop Industries at Loop's head office in
Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada.

 

 

 

Loop and Ester have a well-established working relationship, with Ester
producing Loop™ PET for Loop's global brand customers over the last four
years. The India JV leverages the complementary skill set of each partner by
combining Loop's innovative technology and well-established global customer
base with Ester's nearly 40 years of specialized polymer production,
operational proficiency, and local expertise, including sourcing of PET
plastic and Polyester fiber waste feedstocks.

The DMT and MEG specialty chemicals global market size is estimated at US$28
billion and forecasted to grow at a 3.7% CAGR through 2033. The market is
experiencing a global shortage of DMT due to recent plant closures in Europe,
and low-carbon DMT and MEG are in high demand, but market options are limited
and costly. The Infinite Loop™ India facility is expected to produce 70,000
tonnes of rDMT and 23,000 tonnes of rMEG annually and Ester will toll convert
the rDMT and rMEG into various grades of specialty polymers. The planned
facility in India can lower carbon emissions by up to 70% compared to virgin
DMT and MEG manufactured from fossil fuels(1), offering chemical companies a
simple drop-in supplement and circular alternative that helps them achieve
their sustainability goals.

The rDMT and rMEG product offerings manufactured at the Infinite Loop™ India
facility represent a strategic product expansion in a low-cost manufacturing
environment which complements Loop's existing PET plastic and polyester fiber
manufacturing business and will fuel growth by addressing the large and
growing demand in the market. This expansion enables the Infinite Loop™
technology to reach new markets and cater to a broader range of customers
across multiple industries including the electronics, automotive, textile,
cosmetics and packaging industries.

The India facility will leverage the Infinite Loop™ technology and existing
engineering package which accelerates the lead-time towards groundbreaking,
slated to occur by end of this year. Feedstock sourcing for the facility, in
which there is abundant supply from textile waste in India, is well advanced
and the partners have engaged an external firm to source and secure the land
for the facility. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026,
with commercial operations commencing in early 2027.

The India JV offers attractive economic returns without the need for
substantial sustainability-linked premium pricing. Total capital investment is
estimated approximately at US$165 million.

Arvind Singhania, Chairman and CEO of Ester Industries Ltd. commented "Ester
and Loop have a long-standing working relationship with a deep alignment of
values and shared commitment to circularity and driving sustainable change.
This partnership reinforces our dedication to advancing sustainable solutions
in the polymer industry and by leveraging Loop's technology alongside our
decades of polymer production experience, we will contribute to reducing the
carbon footprint of our products, meeting the evolving needs of our
customers."

Loop's Founder and CEO Daniel Solomita commented "Our partnership with Ester
reflects a strategic alignment built on our shared values of sustainability
and innovation and combines both companies' areas of expertise. The specialty
chemicals market offers a unique opportunity to expand the reach of our
Infinite Loop technology beyond PET and polyester fiber and provides our
customers with a sustainability linked advantage in the specialty chemicals
market. Customer demand for rDMT, rMEG and specialty polymers produced using
our technology is robust due to very limited viable options available in the
marketplace today.

The Infinite Loop India facility represents a great opportunity for Loop to be
a part of the fastest growing economy in the world and capitalizing on
operating in a low-cost manufacturing environment. We see India and this
partnership with Ester as a tremendous growth opportunity for future
expansion.

This approach allows us to optimize returns, expand our presence in key
markets, and drive sustainable growth while maximizing shareholder value."

(1) This data is for the India LCA excluding the avoided waste disposal

About Ester

Ester Industries Limited is a public limited company incorporated in 1985
promoted by the Singhania family. The company is one of India's leading
manufacturers of Polyester Films and Specialty Polymers having a track record
of nearly four decades of continually developing new and innovative products
for customers across the globe. Ester Industries has state of the art
manufacturing facilities in Khatima in Uttarakhand and Hyderabad in Telangana
with combined capacity of 67,000 TPA of Polyester Resin, 110,000 TPA of
Polyester Film and 30,000 TPA of Specialty Polymers. Specialty Polymers are
manufactured primarily for the US and other overseas markets. Ester has a
strong focus on sustainability and circularity, which complements the Infinite
Loop™ technology developed by Loop Industries for recycling various types of
polyester waste into high-value added Polyester products for applications in
rigid/flexible packaging, fibers/garment, industrial, automotive, and consumer
electronic products.

About Loop Industries

Loop Industries is a technology company whose mission is to accelerate the
world's shift toward sustainable PET plastic and polyester fiber and away from
our dependence on fossil fuels. Loop Industries owns patented and proprietary
technology that depolymerizes no and low-value waste PET plastic and polyester
fiber, including plastic bottles and packaging, carpets and textiles of any
color, transparency or condition and even ocean plastics that have been
degraded by the sun and salt, to its base building blocks (monomers). The
monomers are filtered, purified and polymerized to create virgin-quality
Loop™ branded PET resin suitable for use in food-grade packaging and
polyester fiber, thus enabling our customers to meet their sustainability
objectives. Loop™ PET plastic and polyester fiber can be recycled infinitely
without degradation of quality, successfully closing the plastic loop. Loop
Industries is contributing to the global movement towards a circular economy
by reducing plastic waste and recovering waste plastic for a sustainable
future.

Common shares of the Company are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the
symbol "LOOP."

For more information, please visit www.loopindustries.com. Follow Loop on
Twitter: @loopindustries, Instagram: loopindustries, Facebook: Loop Industries
and LinkedIn: Loop Industries

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be
preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects,"
"anticipates," "should," "could," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims,"
"believes," "hopes," "potential" or "continue" the negative of such terms or
similar words. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation,
statements about Loop's market opportunity, its strategies, ability to improve
and expand its capabilities, competition, expected activities and expenditures
as Loop pursues its business plan, the adequacy of its available cash
resources, regulatory compliance, plans for future growth and future
operations, the size of Loop's addressable market, market trends, and the
effectiveness of Loop's internal control over financial reporting.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based
on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond Loop's control, and cannot be
predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks
and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties
associated with among other things: (i) commercialization of our technology
and products, (ii) our status of relationship with partners, (iii) development
and protection of our intellectual property and products, (iv) industry
competition, (v) our need for and ability to obtain additional funding
relative to our current and future financial commitments, (vi) engineering,
contracting, and building our manufacturing facilities, (vii) our ability to
scale, manufacture, and sell our products in order to generate revenues,
(viii) our proposed business model and our ability to execute thereon, (ix)
the ability to obtain the necessary approvals or satisfy any closing
conditions in respect of any of our proposed partnerships, (x) our joint
venture projects and our ability to recover certain expenditures in connection
therewith, (xi) adverse effects on the Company's business and operations as a
result of increased regulatory, media, or financial reporting scrutiny,
practices, rumors, or otherwise, (xii) disease epidemics and other
health-related concerns and crises, which could result in reduced access to
capital markets, supply chain disruptions and scrutiny, embargoing of goods
produced in affected areas, government-imposed mandatory business closures and
any resulting furloughs of our employees, government employment subsidy
programs, travel restrictions or the like to prevent the spread of disease, or
market or other changes that could result in non-cash impairments of our
intangible assets, and property, plant and equipment, (xiii) the effect of the
continuing worldwide macroeconomic uncertainty and its impacts, including
inflation, market volatility and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange and
interest rates, (xiv) the outcome of any SEC investigations or class action
litigation filed against us, (xv) our ability to hire and/or retain qualified
employees and consultants, (xvi) other events or circumstances over which we
have little or no control, and (xvii) other factors discussed in Loop's
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). More
detailed information about Loop and the risk factors that may affect the
realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in Loop's filings with
the SEC. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free
of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. Loop assumes no
obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For More Information:

Investor Relations:

Kevin C. O'Dowd, Investor Relations

Loop Industries, Inc.

+1 617-755-4602
kodowd@loopindustries.com (mailto:kodowd@loopindustries.com)

Media Inquiries:

Andrea Kostiuk, VP Marketing & Communications

Loop Industries, Inc.

+1 (450) 951-8555
akostiuk@loopindustries.com (mailto:akostiuk@loopindustries.com)

SOURCE: Loop Industries, Inc.

 

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