South Korean conglomerate SK Group has started construction of a bioplastics plant in Haiphong, a city in northeast Vietnam.
The plant is scheduled to be completed in June 2025 and start operations three months after.
At full capacity, the project will produce 70,000 tonnes/year of polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), 59,500 tonnes/year of polybutylene succinate (PBS), and 6,300 tonnes/year of tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent products.
Butylene-based biopolymers, such as PBAT and PBS, have been the focus on a lot of innovation. Since 2018, activity among the top five organisations filing patents for butylene-based polymers more than doubled (from 26 to 56 in 2020), with the 2020 number an increase of more than 200% on 2016.
The facility will cover an area of 32,000 square metres in Dinh Vu Industrial Park. Initial investment totalled $100 million as is predicted to reach $500 million by 2030.