Montréal (Canada) & Paris (France) & Seoul (South Korea)- Loop Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: LOOP) (the “Company” or “Loop”), an innovator in sustainable plastics technology whose mission is to accelerate a circular plastics economy by manufacturing 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic and polyester, along with SUEZ, a world leader in environmental services, and SK Geo Centric (“SKGC”), a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Group, one of Asia’s largest conglomerates, today announced that SKGC will become an equal partner in the previously announced partnership between Loop and SUEZ, which was formed to build the first Infinite Loop™ manufacturing facility in Europe.
The expanded partnership will combine SKGC’s petrochemical manufacturing experience with SUEZ’s resource management expertise and Loop’s breakthrough proprietary technology to supply 70,000 M/T of virgin quality, 100% recycled, PET plastic and polyester fiber to the European market. The Infinite Loop™ facility will offer a solution to consumer goods companies which have committed to goals for significantly increased use of recycled content in their products and/or packaging and help to meet the growing demand for recycled PET resin and polyester fiber. Through the collective expertise of SKGC and SUEZ, together with Loop’s technology, the Infinite Loop™ facility could save over 255,000 tons of CO2 every year, compared with virgin PET made from a traditional petrochemical process1.
The Infinite Loop™ facility will provide a solution for low to no value waste that is currently not recycled, positively impacting recycling rates in the location where it will be built. In addition to reviewing the feasibility of the project, the three companies are also reevaluating the optimal location for the European facility. The project is projected to break ground in 2023 in order to support the 2025 goals for recycled content as publicly stated by European consumer brands.
Na Kyung-Soo, the CEO of SK Geo Centric said “We are thrilled to participate in the Infinite Loop™ Europe project together with SUEZ, a leading French environmental service company and Loop, which possesses an advanced recycling technology.” He went on to emphasize “This collaboration will be the first step for SK Geo Centric to move beyond Asia to be a global eco-friendly chemical company.”
“We are thrilled about this enlarged strategic partnership. Together with Loop and now SKGC, we will provide European customers with a solution to boost the circular economy of plastic, while saving over 255,000 tons of CO2 every year”, said Maximilien Pellegrini, SUEZ’ Executive Committee member. “The joint project will enlarge our long-standing offering in mechanical plastic recycling to chemical recycling, thus increasing the options for sustainable treatment of plastic.”
“We are excited to have SKGC join our strategic partnership in Europe for the planned Infinite Loop™ facility with SUEZ,” said Loop Founder & CEO Daniel Solomita. “Their extensive global expertise in petrochemical manufacturing will be invaluable in complementing the strengths that Loop and SUEZ will bring to the joint venture. SKGC has developed significant knowledge and understanding of Loop’s sustainable plastics technology and its Infinite Loop™ engineering package over the last 2 years. Their plan to co-invest in a second major geographical market, in addition to the planned joint venture to roll out Infinite Loop™ manufacturing plants in Asia, is further validation of Loop’s potential to be a global leader in sustainable plastics.”
