SK Geo Centric to participate as equal partner in JV with with Loop Industries and Suez to build recycled PET facility in Europe

June 2022

SK Geo Centric (“SKGC”), SUEZ, and Loop Industries today announced that SKGC will become an equal partner in the previously announced partnership between Loop and SUEZ, which was formed to build the first Infinite Loop™ manufacturing facility in Europe.

Loop Industries is an innovator in sustainable plastics technology whose mission is to accelerate a circular plastics economy by manufacturing 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic and polyester, and SUEZ a world leader in environmental services.

The expanded partnership will combine SKGC’s petrochemical manufacturing experience with SUEZ’s resource management expertise and Loop’s breakthrough proprietary technology to supply 70,000 M/T of virgin quality, 100% recycled, polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”) plastic and polyester fiber to the European market. The Infinite Loop™ facility will offer a solution to consumer goods companies which have committed to goals for significantly increased use of recycled content in their products and/or packaging and help to meet the growing demand for recycled PET resin and polyester fiber.

The Infinite Loop™ facility will provide a solution for low to no value waste that is currently not recycled, positively impacting recycling rates in the location where it will be built. In addition to reviewing the feasibility of the project, the three companies are also reevaluating the optimal location for the European facility in order to support 2025 goals for recycled content as publicly stated by European consumer brands.

Na Kyung-Soo, the CEO of SK Geo Centric said “We are thrilled to participate in Infinite Loop™ Europe project together with SUEZ, leading French environmental service and LOOP, which possesses an advanced recycling technology.” He went on to emphasize “This collaboration will be the first step for SK Geo Centric to move beyond Asia to be a global eco-friendly chemical company.”

“We are thrilled about this enlarged strategic partnership. Together with Loop and now SKGC, we will provide European customers with a solution to boost the circular economy of plastic, while saving over 255,000 tons of CO every year, compared with virgin PET made from a traditional petrochemical process*.” said Maximilien Pellegrini, SUEZ’ Executive committee member in charge of France. The joint project will enlarge our long-standing offering in mechanical plastic recycling to chemical recycling, thus increasing the options for sustainable treatment of plastic.
(*) Based on latest LCA from March 2022, data is compared to Virgin PET made from DMT

“We are excited to have SKGC join our strategic partnership in Europe for the planned Infinite Loop™ facility with SUEZ,” said Loop Founder & CEO Daniel Solomita. “Their extensive global expertise in petrochemical manufacturing will be invaluable in complementing the strengths that Loop and Suez will bring to the joint venture. SKGC has developed significant knowledge and understanding of Loop’s sustainable plastics technology and its Infinite Loop™ engineering package over the last 2 years. Their plan to co-invest in a second major geographical market, in addition to the planned joint venture to roll out Infinite Loop™ manufacturing plants in Asia, is further validation of Loop’s potential to be a global leader in sustainable plastics.”

About Loop Industries

Loop Industries is a technology company whose mission is to accelerate the world’s shift toward sustainable PET plastic and polyester fiber and away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Loop Industries owns patented and proprietary technology that depolymerizes no and low-value waste PET plastic and polyester fiber, including plastic bottles and packaging, carpets and textiles of any color, transparency or condition and even ocean plastics that have been degraded by the sun and salt, to its base building blocks (monomers).

The monomers are filtered, purified and polymerized to create virgin-quality Loop™ branded PET resin suitable for use in food-grade packaging and polyester fiber, thus enabling our customers to meet their sustainability objectives. Loop Industries is contributing to the global movement towards a circular economy by reducing plastic waste and recovering waste plastic for a sustainable future.

Common shares of the Company are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “LOOP.”

About SUEZ

SUEZ is a major player in environmental services. For almost 160 years, SUEZ has supported local communities and industrial companies in the management of essential services such as water, waste, and air quality. As such, SUEZ produces drinking water for 66 million people worldwide, recovers 2 million tons of secondary raw materials per year, and generates 3.1 TWh of renewable energy from waste. In our ongoing management of the ecological transition and climate change challenges, SUEZ relies on the expertise and commitment of its 35,000 employees (particularly in France, Italy, Central Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia) to offer high value-added and customized environmental solutions to all its customers. SUEZ’s expertise allows, for instance, its customers to avoid the emission of 4.2 million tons of CO2, thus improving their carbon footprint and their impact on climate. With a turnover of more than 7.5 billion euros in 2021 and backed by its expertise and capacity to innovate, SUEZ has strong growth prospects. SUEZ relies on a solid consortium of investors made up of Meridiam and GIP – with 40% stakes each – and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Group with a 20% stake in the capital, including 8% held by CNP Assurances, to pursue its strategic development plans in France and internationally.

(Photo 1) SK Geo Centric and SUEZ announced their partnership in SUEZ Headquarter in France. (From left) Loop Industries Founder & CEO Daniel Solomita, Vice president of Suez Max Pellegrini, and CEO of SK Geo Centric Na Kyung-Soo