Arkema has announced the location of its planned new world-scale plant for the production of the monomer of PA11 - 11-Aminoundecanoic acid, derived from castor oil - and its Rilsan polyamide 11 resins.
The company has chosen Jurong Island in Singapore to set up its new bio-sourced polyamide production site, because of the advantages the location offers in terms of infrastructure, logistics, industrial integration and operational excellence, as well as optimization of the carbon footprint of the planned business.
Plans for the new plant, which will double global production capacities, were announced in July 2017, in response to strong demand from Asia for high-performance bio-sourced lightweighting solutions. As a 100% bio-sourced polyamide, PA11 can replace metal in applications in the electronics, 3D printing, oil and gas extraction, and automotive markets.
“Singapore’s industrial and innovation-friendly environment is, we believe, a key asset for our project, " commented Erwoan Pezron, global group President for Arkema’s technical polymers business line.
This project is part of the Group’s exceptional investments of in total some 500 million euros earmarked for the 2018-2021 period. Construction is scheduled to be completed by late 2021.