The plant, called Origin 2, will convert sustainable wood residue, sourced partly from Louisiana’s timber mills and managed forests, into four building-block chemicals: chloromethyl furfural (CMF), hydrothermal carbon, levulinic acid and furfural.

Origin converts the CMF into paraxylene, which is then used to make PET. The hydrothermal carbon is being developed for applications in several markets, including tire filler, carbon black, agriculture and activated carbon.

The company is investing at least $750 million in the plant, which will create 200 new direct jobs when it starts up. Construction is expected to begin in the middle of 2023 with the plant scheduled to be mechanically complete and operational by mid-2025.

“The demand for ‘net zero’-enabling materials is extremely strong, and we believe this plant will be instrumental in addressing demand for our products in the US and internationally,” said John Bissell, Origin Materials co-founder and co-CEO. “The site sits along the Mississippi River with easy access to barge and rail and plentiful local wood residue feedstock. The proposed incentive package for building in the area is compelling and the local industrial cluster can provide access to hydrogen, ethylene, water treatment and more.”

The plant, which Origin said will be the largest of its kind, will join the company’s network of locations, that include a pilot facility in West Sacramento and a plant currently under construction in Ontario, Canada.

Earlier this month, Origin Materials entered into a strategic partnership with the Green Chemistry Division of Minafin Group, to industrialize high-value specialty materials using its products. The partnership includes multiple areas of collaboration to bring cost-competitive bio-based products to market with applications in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetics and personal care, and automotive industries.

Minafin’s EcoXtract business is also talking with Origin about using the latter’s carbon-negative materials to commercialize a bio-based process that extracts useful plant oils for food, cosmetics, and other applications.

Another collaboration was announced last January, that time with Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Origin and Mitsui are aiming to rapidly develop and industrialize new sustainable carbon-negative products used in multiple industries, such as automotive, chemicals, electronics, packaging, textiles, construction and personal care. As part of the deal, Mitsui has signed a multi-year capacity reservation agreement with Origin to buy its carbon-negative materials.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist