Ester Loop Infinite Technologies (ELITe) — a joint venture between Indian polyester film and specialty polymer manufacturer Ester Industries and Canadian chemicals recycler Loop Industries — will develop India's first Infinite Loop™ chemical recycling facility, it said on 3 September.
The joint venture has acquired land in Gujarat to set up the Greenfield Chemical Recycling Plant, to be developed at a project cost of around Rs16bn ($181mn). It will use Loop's proprietary chemical recycling technology to convert polyester textile waste into virgin-quality PET resin.
The facility will begin with a capacity of 70,000 t/yr, with scope to expand by an additional 100,000 t/yr. The timeline for the construction and start-up was not disclosed.
The project site is located near Surat, India's synthetic textile hub, within the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR). The location provides direct access to abundant textile waste, a skilled petrochemical workforce, and a deep-water port to support efficient resin exports.
The Infinite Loop™ India facility is designed to run on about 80pc renewable electricity and biofuels and is expected to cut carbon emissions by up to 80pc compared with conventional petroleum-based PET production.
The land acquisition marks a major milestone toward building a circular economy for polyester in India, positioning the country as a future hub for sustainable textile-to-textile recycling, Ester said.
