Japan's Mitsui eyes building $550m U.S. bioplastics plant

Bio-PET factory, one of world's largest, would cut carbon emissions tied to drink bottles

A cornfield in the U.S. state of Illinois. Bioplastics can be made from plants including corn and sugar cane.

TOGO SHIRAISHI, Nikkei staff writer

December 14, 2022 03:02 JST

TOKYO -- Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. will decide next year whether to build a bioplastics factory in the southeastern U.S., creating one of the largest production sites worldwide for the plant-based packaging material.

The proposed bio-PET plastics factory, with an annual capacity of 400,000 tonnes, could open in 2025. Investment is estimated at $550 million. Mitsui has signed a memorandum of understanding with U.S.-based chemical company Petron Scientech to explore a joint venture.