Eastman secures US$375M investment for second US molecular recycling project

26 Mar 2024 --- Eastman has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to receive up to US$375 million in funding for its second molecular recycling facility in the US. The facility will be located in Longview, Texas, and is poised to bring substantial economic benefits to the region. 

Eastman was selected by the DOE as one of 33 companies for award negotiations in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). 

The investment will facilitate the development of the Longview site and is also expected to create over 200 full-time, high-paying jobs for the local community. Additionally, the site’s development and facility construction phase will generate approximately 1,000 temporary jobs.

The Longview molecular recycling facility will be able to recycle approximately 110,000 metric tons of hard-to-recycle plastic waste.

In addition to its economic implications, the Longview project aligns with the DOE’s objective of promoting low-carbon intensity recycled PET production. By deploying advanced technologies such as thermal heat batteries and onsite solar power, Eastman aims to reduce carbon emissions.

“We are excited to build our second US world-scale molecular recycling facility at our existing site in Texas,” says Mark Costa, board chair and CEO of Eastman. “The plant will remove significant waste from the region, enable true circularity and set a new benchmark for decarbonization.”Eastman says it can transform waste plastic into virgin quality food contact polyesters with lower GHG emissions than traditional methods.

Recycling and community investments
Eastman’s new facility will transform waste plastic into virgin-quality materials suitable for food contact applications. The investment includes operations that will prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, Eastman’s next-generation molecular recycling unit to depolymerize waste, and a polymer facility to create virgin-quality materials for packaging and textiles.

With tax incentives from the State of Texas totaling approximately US$70 million, in addition to the DOE’s funding, Eastman stresses that the planned project is “aligned with the DOE’s goal of catalyzing industry-wide change to a low-carbon future.” 

Also, as part of the award from the DOE, the company plans to support the renovation of a community center to be used as a hub for community outreach, workforce training and development, and other ongoing needs of its community partners.

“Texas is where businesses flourish, and people prosper,” comments Texas Governor Greg Abbott. “This additional facility by Eastman in Longview will bring hundreds of good-paying jobs to hardworking Texans and millions in capital investment to East Texas.”

Edited by Radhika Sikaria