SABIC has inaugurated a new polypropylene (PP) pilot plant at Geleen, the Netherlands, and at the same time announced a new investment in a state-of-the-art PP extrusion facility to be built at the Dutch complex.

At an opening ceremony for the pilot plant, attended by Dutch dignitaries, SABIC CEO Yousef Al-Benyan said both facilities reflect the Saudi group’s 2025 strategy to be the preferred world leader in chemicals.

The new PP pilot plant, which is already on stream, uses gas-phase polymerization technology. SABIC said it is designed to enable accelerated development and commercialization of highly innovative material solutions that meet the growing needs of various industries, including automotive, health- and personal care, appliances and advanced packaging.

The Saudi group said the new facility will serve to develop products with improved balance in stiffness and impact resistance, flow properties and other properties specific to target applications. It plans to concentrate on development of impact grades of PP, as well as random copolymers and homopolymers, at the plant, as well as carrying out experiments on advanced catalysts.

The Geleen pilot plant is part of SABIC's network of 21 Global Technology Centers, located strategically around the world. It will support strategic innovation initiatives for the group’s comprehensive PP product line, to address continuously evolving market needs.

The highly automated PP extrusion line, described as cutting-edge, is expected to go on stream in the fourth quarter. SABIC's said it will answer customers' needs for advanced materials that can support them developing the next generation lightweight applications in industries such as packaging, appliances, automotive, and healthcare.

At an inauguration event dinner for high-level executives at Kerkrade in the Netherlands’ Limburg province, SABIC presented its latest sustainability initiatives. Guest speaker was young Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of The Ocean Clean up Foundation, which develops technologies to clean plastics waste from the ocean.