Lafayette, Indiana – Indiana’s growing reputation as a center for innovation and sustainability is much enhanced with Sustainea, a pioneering business in sustainable chemistry, about to spend $400 million to open its first U.S. industrial plant in Lafayette. This plant will concentrate on manufacturing Bio-MEG (monoethylene glycol), a sustainable substitute for petroleum-based chemicals, thus taking a significant step toward cleaner industrial processes.
Combining Brazil-based Braskem with Japan-based Sojitz, the Lafayette factory will use cutting-edge technology to convert corn-derived dextrose into Bio-MEG. Co-located with Illinois-based Primient, this factory will provide the raw components required for the plant-based alternative. The creative cooperation promises to produce a sustainable product that will be a main component in making polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a material extensively utilized in industry from textiles to food packaging.
Courtesy of Sustainea
Sustainability at the core of industrial innovation
With uses spanning daily life, bio-mEG is undoubtedly essential for the production of PET. From our clothes to the bottles we drink from, PET is everywhere. Originally developed from petroleum-based compounds, it finds great application in sectors including food packaging, footwear, and fashion. While significantly reducing the carbon footprint of these daily items, Sustainea’s plant-based substitute claims to offer the same great performance.
Gustavo Sergi, CEO of Sustainea, underscored the significance of the partnership.
“This partnership marks a significant step forward in building one of the largest sustainability ventures globally,” said Sergi per the press release issued by Sustainea. “Primient has proven to be a strategic partner and long-term ally, with notable operational synergies and shared values. The high energy efficiency and low-carbon dextrose produced at the Lafayette plant will uniquely position Sustainea’s products for both sustainability and competitiveness. This announcement greatly serves our customers who will benefit from decarbonizing an ever-growing PET market.”
Using Primient’s corn dextrose supply guarantees sustainability and fits with growing demand for environmentally friendly substitutes via Sustainea’s Bio-MEG manufacturing method. By giving a fresh market for locally grown corn and creating new prospects for Indiana’s corn growers, the company’s new plant will also help Indiana’s agriculture industry.
Credit: Getty
Sustainea facility will help strengthening global ties and Indiana local economies
The investment also emphasizes Indiana’s agbioscience industry’s strength as well as the state’s developing economic links to Brazil. Governor Eric Holcomb emphasized the venture’s wider economic effects.
“Indiana is a global agbiosciences leader, and we are excited to welcome Sustainea to our thriving ecosystem of growers, manufacturers and innovators,” said Gov. Holcomb. “Today’s news not only marks a significant win for the growth of this future-focused sector in Indiana and globally, but it represents growing ties between Indiana and Brazil and creates new opportunities for our two regions to work together for the benefit of our economies and our people.”
The building of the plant is planned to generate up to 191 high-paying employment, subsequently greatly helping the Lafayette area economy. Complying with up to $6.9 million in tax credits and up to $100,000 in training grants, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has committed to supporting the project.
These incentives will be performance-based, meaning that Sustainea can tap into them as the investments materialize and job creation benchmarks are met. Additionally, both the city of Lafayette and Tippecanoe County have thrown their support behind the project with local incentives aimed at bolstering the economic impact.
Lafayette is leading the way in environmentally friendly growth. The decision of Sustainea to establish its first American operations in Lafayette excited local officials equally. Mayor Tony Roswarski expressed his enthusiasm for the development.
“We are very excited to welcome Sustainea to Lafayette” said Roswarski. “They will bring $400 million of new investments into our community and create a significant number of new local jobs in this emerging agbioscience sector. They will also be a strong partner for Primient, enabling them to grow their local operation. Like others before them, we couldn’t be happier that their competitive site selection process led them to conclude that Lafayette is the best place in the U.S. for them to implement their state-of-the-art technology.”
Credit: Sustainea
Roswarski then underlined the more general environmental and financial gains. This initiative exactly complements the long-term strategy for innovation, sustainability, and economic development of the city. In the years to come, it is projected to produce ripple effects benefiting the local economy and environment.
Apart from the financial gain, Sustainea’s investment is supposed to help to hasten the change toward more environmentally friendly production techniques. The emphasis on bio-based substitutes, such Bio-MEG, fits more general worldwide initiatives to lower dependency on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. For Indiana, this is not just a chance to spearhead green manufacturing but also a fresh and significant way of supporting its agricultural foundation.
The Sustainea facility is expected to be a bright future for Indiana agriculture
Sustainea’s investment also has impacts outside of the business world. The Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture Don Lamb noted that this growth will greatly help Indiana’s agricultural community.
“The news that Sustainea is getting prepared to break ground in Lafayette as their first U.S. operation is exciting news for our Indiana row crop farmers,” said Don Lamb, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “Indiana corn farmers produce over 1 billion bushels of corn each year. Sustainea’s renewable and sustainable products will open a new market for Indiana producers, and we are grateful they chose our state to expand into the U.S.”
Expected to break ground following the completion of engineering and investment decisions, the facility is expected to first start production in 2028. Until then, the primary focus remains on ensuring that the site is ready to be the pillar of Sustainea’s U.S. sustainable chemistry activities.
With Sustainea’s $400 million investment in Lafayette, Indiana’s economy as well as sustainable manufacturing as a whole seem to have bright future. Making plant-based Bio-MEG will help the company be very important in changing sectors such textiles, packaging, and others. Supported strongly by local and state officials as well as Indiana’s booming agricultural industry, this project signals the start of a new chapter for environmentally friendly industrial expansion in the United States.
Projects like Sustainea’s Lafayette facility show how cooperation between global leaders, local businesses, and agricultural innovators can propel development and produce a more sustainable future as the world keeps giving sustainability top priority. Indiana is leading that path right now, and the results of this investment will be seen for many decades to come.
