Clean tech firm Loop Industries has entered a joint venture with Ester Industries to build and operate an Infinite Loop India manufacturing facility for the production of recycled dimethyl terephthalate (rDMT) and recycled mono-ethylene glycol (rMEG).

Ester Industries is said to be one of India’s leading manufacturers of polyester films and specialty polymers and the two are building on an existing working relationship where Ester has produced Loop PET for Loop's global brand customers over the last four years.

The India venture is said to leverage the complementary skillset of each partner by combining Loop’s innovative technology and well-established global customer base with Ester's nearly 40 years of specialised polymer production, operational proficiency, and local expertise, including sourcing of PET plastic and polyester fibre waste feed stocks.

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 per cent compared to virgin DMT and MEG manufactured from fossil fuels, 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 fibre 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.

Feedstock sourcing for the facility, in which there is an 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.

Arvind Singhania , Ester Industries Ltd., Chairman & CEO commented, “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."

Daniel Solomita , Loop, Founder & CEO added, “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 speciality chemicals market offers a unique opportunity to expand the reach of our Infinite Loop technology beyond PET and Polyester fibre and provides our customers with a sustainability-linked advantage in the speciality chemicals market. Customer demands for rDMT, rMEG and speciality polymers produced using our technology is robust due to very limited viable options available in the marketplace today.”

The construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 with commercial operations commencing in early 2027.

 (Source: Global Data)