Lotte Chemical Ulsan Plant Transitions to 'Green Factory'

Transforming into a Leading Base for Resource Circulation in C-rPET Production

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Lotte Chemical's Ulsan plant is transforming into a Green Factory.

On the 9th, Lotte Chemical signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ulsan City to establish an eco-friendly plastic recycling platform. The signing ceremony held at Ulsan City Hall was attended by Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan, and Hwang Jin-gu, CEO of Lotte Chemical's Basic Materials Business, among others.

Through this agreement, Lotte Chemical will invest approximately 100 billion KRW by 2024 to build a C-rPET plant with an annual capacity of 110,000 tons at Ulsan Plant 2. Ulsan City plans to actively support administrative processes such as permits related to this project. This is expected to contribute to revitalizing the local economy and creating jobs.

C-rPET is produced through a chemical recycling technology of waste PET. Waste PET is chemically decomposed and purified into raw materials, which then undergo polymerization to finally produce C-rPET. It can use colored and low-quality waste PET, which was previously difficult to recycle mechanically, as raw material, and it is characterized by no quality degradation even after repeated recycling.

To this end, Lotte Chemical will establish Korea's first depolymerization plant capable of processing 50,000 tons of waste PET flakes annually, and by 2024, it plans to build and simultaneously start mass production and sales of a C-rPET production facility with an annual capacity of 110,000 tons that polymerizes the depolymerized monomer (BHET) back into PET. Subsequently, through expansion of the depolymerization and C-rPET plants, the C-rPET business will be expanded to 260,000 tons, and by 2030, the existing Ulsan PET plant with an annual capacity of 340,000 tons will be fully converted to produce C-rPET.

Alongside the commercialization of the C-rPET business, Lotte Chemical plans to support the sales of M-rPET produced by partner companies by utilizing Lotte Chemical’s brand and overseas export distribution network as part of building a PET recycling platform. This will also strengthen win-win cooperation with small and medium-sized partners.

For sustainable growth and expansion of eco-friendly businesses, Lotte Chemical introduced the ESG management strategy initiative 'Green Promise 2030' in February this year, setting the direction for eco-friendly business and specifying action plans. It established four core tasks: 'Strengthening Eco-friendly Business,' 'Expanding Resource Circulation,' 'Responding to Climate Crisis,' and 'Creating a Green Ecosystem.' The company aims to achieve 6 trillion KRW in eco-friendly chemical BU sales, expand recycled materials by 1 million tons, and pursue carbon-neutral growth without increasing carbon emissions by 2030.

The transformation of the Ulsan plant into a Green Factory is also part of Lotte Chemical’s expanded ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. As Korea’s leading PET producer, Lotte Chemical plans to lead proactive changes to expand resource circulation through the commercialization of the technically challenging C-rPET business.