Loop Industries JV acquires Indian site for recycled PET project

Loop Industries Inc. (Quebec, Canada) said its joint venture in India has agreed to acquire land in Gujarat State for a proposed 70,000-metric tons per year recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) resin plant, as per Chemweek.

The plastics recycling technology firm said on Aug. 13 that the site near Surat has strategic access to textile waste as feedstock, as well as renewable energy and industrial infrastructure. Loop plans to expand the capacity of the initial plant by a further 100,000 metric tons per year after the initial phase is operational. The location “gives the JV a direct and abundant supply of polyester textile waste feedstock,” Loop said.

A construction start date and scheduled start of operations for the plant were not given. The agreed purchase price for the land of $10.5 million means a $5-million reduction in the estimated $176 million capital cost given in a recent front-end engineering and design (FEED) package completed by India’s Tata Consulting Engineers, it said.

The proposed plant will be powered by 80% clean, renewable electricity and renewable biofuel, with the resulting PET resin to be produced with up to 80% less carbon emissions compared to traditional virgin, petroleum-based PET, according to the company.

Loop said it expects permitting to be completed by the end of 2025 and that the site’s location also gives it access to a deepwater port and the option of cost-effective resin exports.

In May 2024, Loop announced an agreement with Ester Industries Ltd. (Gurgaon, India) to form a 50/50 JV to produce recycled dimethyl terephthalate (rDMT) and recycled monoethylene glycol (rMEG), with a production capacity of 70,000 metric tons per year and 23,000 metric tons per year, respectively. The companies plan to produce the rMEG and rDMT through the depolymerization of PET using Loop’s patented technology, they said at that time.

Ester operates plants at Khatima and Hyderabad, India, with a combined capacity for 67,000 metric tons per year of polyester resin, 110,000 metric tons per year of polyester film and 30,000 metric tons per year of specialty polymers.

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Mongolia and China have discussed the possibility of organizing a trilateral meeting with Russia in the near future on the gas pipeline project from Russia to China through Mongolia, Mongolian media reported, as per Interfax.

The discussion took place during a meeting between Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Shen Minjuan and Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan.

"Shen Minjuan agreed that it would be expedient for representatives of the three countries responsible for the gas pipeline project to meet in person to discuss it," one of the publications reported.

The 950-km pipeline would cross Mongolia from north to south through six provinces.

This is the Soyuz Vostok project, a continuation of the planned Power of Siberia 2 trunk pipeline that will connect hydrocarbon fields in West Siberia with the Xinjian Uighur Autonomous Region of northwest China, from where it will be sent to Shanghai. Planned supplies are up to 50 billion cubic meters per year.

The project's timing depends on a contract being signed by Gazprom and China's CNPC, with talks ongoing.

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SOCAR Turkiye Enerji A.S. (STEAS, the Turkish subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic, SOCAR) and Turkish Airlines have agreed to cooperate in the field of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to a statement by STEAS on LinkedIn, as per Interfax.

"The head of SOCAR Turkiye Enerji, Elchin Ibadov, and the head of Turkish Airlines, Bilal Eksi, signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of sustainable fuel on August 13," the statement said.

The document extends the existing cooperation between the two companies in the supply of conventional aviation fuel to include SAF, it said. "This cooperation will also lay the foundation for implementing larger-scale projects aimed at achieving regional sustainable development goals," it said.

Earlier this year, the head of SOCAR Turkiye's refining and petrochemical division, Kenan Mirzoyev, said that SOCAR Turkiye Enerji is exploring the possibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel at its STAR refinery.

It was noted that, in line with its development strategy until 2030, the company intends to establish SAF production from waste vegetable fats. At the same time, Mirzoyev said that SAF production would represent the largest transformation at the refinery.

SAF is sustainable aviation fuel, an environmentally friendly version of Jet-A1 fuel. It can be produced from renewable raw materials - waste cooking oils, animal fats and plant residues. Unlike conventional jet fuel, SAF in its pure form reduces carbon emissions 80%. SAF can be blended with conventional aviation fuel in proportions of up to 50%.

SOCAR entered Turkey's aviation sector under the SOCAR Aviation brand in 2013, signing its first major contract with Pegasus Airlines for fuel supply at Sabiha Gokcen Airport. In 2016, fuel deliveries began for Turk Hava Yollari at Ataturk Airport, Adnan Menderes Airport in Izmir, and Bodrum Airport.

The STAR refinery was commissioned in October 2018 and is designed to process Azeri Light, Kirkuk and Urals crude oil. It supplies raw materials to the Petkim petrochemical complex and creates opportunities for SOCAR to enter the Mediterranean market with its diesel, jet fuel and feedstock for the chemical industry. The refinery meets 18% of Turkey's demand for petroleum products.

The refinery's processing capacity exceeds 13 million tonnes per year. SOCAR has invested approximately $7 billion in the construction and development of the STAR refinery.

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Kazakh-made components will be used in the assembly of Chery vehicles at the Astana Motors Manufacturing Kazakhstan plant (Almaty), the Kazakh Industry and Construction Ministry said, as per Interfax.

The agreement was reached during a working meeting between Kazakh Industry Minister Yersain Nagaspayev, Chery brand CEO and Chery International Vice President Shaodong Zhu, and Astana Motors CEO Beknur Nesipbayev.

Kazakhstan currently produces batteries, tires, multimedia systems and car seats, with plans to launch new automotive parts and component manufacturing facilities, the ministry said.

Chery vehicle assembly is scheduled to begin at the Almaty plant this year, it said. Astana Motors was established in 1992 by businessman Nurjan Smagulov.

In fall 2022, Astana Motors began constructing a small-unit assembly plant for passenger cars in Almaty for Changan, Chery and Haval vehicles. Pilot production, originally planned for Q1 2025, has not yet commenced.

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JSC Ural Automobile Plant (Miass, Chelyabinsk region) has started constructing a new foundry complex worth 9.5 billion rubles, as per Interfax.

A ceremonial laying of the first stone took place on Thursday, the press service of the Industrial Development Fund (IDF) said. The IDF provided the plant with a 5 billion ruble preferential loan for implementing the project.

It is planned that the new shop, with an area of 46,000 square meters, will produce up to 45,000 tonnes of cast iron castings per year. They will be used as blanks for drive axles and other automotive components for trucks and special equipment.

"Creating additional foundry production capacities is aimed at solving several tasks. First, it is about mastering the production of casting blanks for localized parts of Ural vehicles' new axles. Second, we plan to fully cover our own needs in cast iron casting. And, of course, we will work for third-party customers," Ural Automobile Plant CEO Pavel Yakovlev was quoted as saying.

Currently, old foundry buildings at the industrial site have been dismantled, design work has been completed and contracts with contractors have been signed. The launch of production is planned for 2027.

The fund's loan proceeds will be used to purchase automatic molding lines, induction melting complexes, cleaning units and machines for abrasive processing of metal products, the IDF said.

As reported, the project to create a full-cycle foundry production for Ural trucks, in addition to the federal IDF, also involves VEB.RF, which previously issued a loan of 2.6 billion rubles.

The project aims to support the production of Ural vehicles. In particular, the main products of the new production facility will be medium and small cast iron casting for key systems of Ural vehicles, as well as parts for other engineering enterprises to replace imported components.

Ural Automobile Plant is a major manufacturer of trucks in Russia.

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