By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) — SKC Co., a South Korean materials maker, announced on Monday that it is planning to build a factory in Vietnam’s northeastern city of Hai Phong to produce polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), a biodegradable co-polymer used in general plastics. The facility is scheduled to become operational in 2025.
Ecovance, SKC’s PBAT joint venture with two other South Korean partners, is aiming to produce 70,000 tons of the biodegradable material every year from the plant.
The Vietnamese government presented SKC and Ecovance with an investment registration certificate, the legal document required by foreign companies to invest in the country, during a ceremony last Friday to launch the investment plan.
Ecovance specializes in developing PBAT with improved durability by using nanocellulose extracted from trees. PBAT is commonly used in general purpose plastics, such as industrial films, food containers, diapers, and masks.
SKC is also constructing a separate facility to produce 36,000 tons of its biodegradable material, named Limex, at the same site. Limex is made by mixing limestone with general plastic resins, such as PE and PP, to reduce petroleum-derived plastics. SKC is striving to commercialize a version of Limex containing the biodegradable PBAT.
SKC set up SK TBM Geostone, a joint venture with TBM, a Japanese eco-friendly materials company, in 2021 to boost the biodegradable plastic materials business.
SKC, a chemical unit under the energy-to-telecom conglomerate SK Group, is transitioning to an advanced materials company largely engaged in the manufacturing of secondary battery materials and other advanced components like semiconductor packaging.
SKC CEO Park Won-cheol (4th from L) poses for a photo with Le Tien Chau (4th from R), party committee secretary for Hai Phong city, and other officials during a ceremony in the Vietnamese city for SKC's investment to build a facility to produce biodegradable plastic materials on Sept. 22, 2023, in this photo provided by SKC. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
elly@yna.co.kr
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