Braskem and Sojitz Corporation have announced a joint venture to produce and market bio MEG (monoethylene glycol) and bio MPG (monopropylene glycol). The agreement will include the construction of three industrial units hoping to begin operations in 2025.
MEG is a raw material used in the production of PET, largely used in packaging, produced mainly from fossil-based raw materials. MPG is used for applications including unsaturated polymer resins (UPR) and cosmetic products. Previously, Braskem partnered with Haldor Topsoe in 2017 to demonstrate a technology for converting sugar into bioMEG and bioMPG, with the first bioMEG samples produced in 2020.
The new partnership by Braskem and Sojitz will focus on producing and marketing bioMEG and bioMPG. The business plan includes the construction of three industrial units, with the start-up of the first plant slated for 2025, although it is dependent on the conclusion of technology development in the course of this year.
Braskem’s expertise in the industrial production and scaling of chemicals and plastics made from renewable sources will be complemented with Sojitz’s strong presence in Asia, where 80% of the global MEG market is and where its consumption has reportedly registered the highest growth.
Gustavo Sergi, renewable chemicals and specialties officer at Braskem, comments: “We are pooling the efforts, expertise and investments of the two companies that are references in their respective segments to create a global leader in bioMEG that can meet the strong market demand for sustainable and renewable products.
“The partnership between Braskem and Sojitz marks the advance of technology – developed on a demonstration scale with Danish company Haldor Topsoe – to the commercial production phase with a clear combination of competencies and resources for scaling up. We embarked on a journey alongside our partners, combining Haldor Topsoe’s technology, Sojitz’s expertise and Braskem’s experience to achieve our goal of delivering a sustainable solution with the potential to revolutionize the textile and PET packaging markets.”
Manabu Endo, general manager of the basic chemicals department at Sojitz, adds: “We promote this sustainable material to various industries globally with our strong and wide-ranged market networks.
“This is a huge progress towards our ambition to realize 100% Biomass PET together with our project to produce bio Paraxylene, another raw material of PET, partnering with Japanese partners.”
With the agreement signed between Braskem and Sojitz, the establishment of the joint venture has now been submitted to antitrust authorities for approval.
