AFPM ’22: INTERVIEW: Indorama aims to invest $8bn in chemically recycled and bio-based plastics – CEO

SAN ANTONIO (ICIS)–Thailand-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and surfactants producer Indorama plans to invest around $8bn in recycled and bio-based plastics to meet its goal of having 25% of its feedstocks circular or bio-renewable, its CEO said on Sunday.

“Mechanical recycling will continue but the big game changer will be a new chapter of advanced recycling and bio-renewable feedstock,” said Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama, in an interview with ICIS.

“For bio-based and advanced recycling, the scale is just not there yet. I take this as my personal challenge to deliver on this, and we are prepared to invest $8bn from now to 2030,” he added.

Lohia spoke to ICIS on the sidelines of the International Petrochemical Conference (IPC) hosted by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM).

Chemical recycling of plastics is also known as advanced recycling.

“We will scan the world for those developing these technologies, and can offer our sites for them to experiment,” said Lohia.

Indorama also has a nearer-term goal of bringing its recycled PET feedstock to around 700,000 tonnes/year by 2025, with $1.5bn in investments. The company announced this goal three years ago, and today is at about 400,000 tonnes/year, he noted.

“All of this is on track but today this is only 2% of feedstock. We want to get that to 25% by 2030 – that’s the big milestone,” said Lohia, who added that the company’s commitment to sustainability was one of the reasons for being selected for the Petrochemical Heritage Award.

Lohia is the winner of the 2022 Petrochemical Heritage Award and will accept the award on 28 March at the IPC.

The AFPM IPC runs through Tuesday.

Interview article by Joseph Chang