Canadian circular plastics and fiber recycling firm Loop Industries has teamed with one of India’s leading manufacturers of specialty polymers to form a new joint venture.
Loop, which recycles plastic waste and polyester textiles into new materials, has entered into a 50-50 strategic partnership with Ester Industries to form a new entity called India JV. The partners will build and operate a manufacturing facility to produce low-carbon recycled dimethyl terephthalate (rDMT), recycled mono-ethylene glycol (rMEG), which can be used across a multitude of applications including textile fibers.
The “Infinite Loop” production program will combine the complementary technologies and skill sets from each company, with Loop providing much of the innovative processing capabilities and Ester providing expertise when it comes to sourcing PET and polyester waste feedstocks in the local market.
The rDMT and rMEG products created at the Infinite Loop facility will complement Loop’s existing PET and polyester fiber manufacturing business, which has seen growing demand in recent years. Loop said the expansion will allow it to probe new markets and consumers across industries like textiles, automotive, electronics and packaging. The heightened scale of production will also allow India JV to drive down the price of the premium sustainable materials, making them more accessible to a broader market, it added.
With the partners investing about $165 million into India JV, Loop and Ester said they anticipate breaking ground on the facility by the end of this year. Construction will be completed by the end of 2026, and commercial operations are slated to ramp up in early 2027. Certain operational elements, like feedstock sourcing from India’s abundant supply of textile waste, are already underway, and an external firm has been hired to secure land for the facility.
“Ester and Loop have a long-standing working relationship with a deep alignment of values and shared commitment to circularity and driving sustainable change,” Ester chairman and CEO Arvind Singhania said. “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 founder and CEO Daniel Solomita said the partnership 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,” he added. “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.”
Solomita said the facility represents a chance for Loop to be a part of “the fastest growing economy in the world” while also working in a low-cost manufacturing environment, which will leave the door open for future expansion. “This approach allows us to optimize returns, expand our presence in key markets, and drive sustainable growth while maximizing shareholder value,” he added.
Today, the global market for DMT and MEG specialty chemicals is worth about $28 billion, with a compound annual growth rate forecasted at 3.7 percent through 2033. Meanwhile, there’s a shortage of DMT because of recent European plant closures. While both DMT and MEG, commonly used in a wide range of products from food packaging like plastic bottles to textile fibers, current available options are both “limited and costly,” the partners said.
Once the factory hits its stride, it’s expected to produce up to 70,000 tons of rDMT and 23,000 tons of rMEG each year. Ester will convert those substances into different grades of specialty polymers, with a 70-percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to the production of DMT and MEG products made from virgin inputs.
Upon news of the partnership announcement, Ester Industries stock surged upwards of 5 percent to 129.10 rupees (about $1.55), its highest point in nearly a year.
