France's Loop unveils European infinite loop manufacturing facility

Loop and leading French environmental services group Suez, have announced their intent to form a joint venture to build the first Infinite Loop manufacturing facility in Europe. The two companies have secured exclusive rights until June 2022 to purchase a 130,000 square metres parcel of land in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine, in the region of Normandy in Northern France. The site is strategically located for waste plastic feedstock transportation via the Seine River from the Paris region and is well located to service the large French CPG brand companies. The capital investment required for the project is expected to be €250 million and the project is expected to create 180 full-time manufacturing and engineering jobs. The next major steps for the project include permitting, finalising customer offtake agreements and financing, including support from the French government. Following the completion of permitting, construction of the facility is expected to begin in 2023, with commissioning approximately 18 months later, the company said in a press release.

The Infinite Loop manufacturing model is designed to produce 70,000 tonnes of PET resin made from 100 per cent recycled content per year. The facility will provide an opportunity for global CPG brands based in France to accelerate the achievement of their sustainability objectives by gaining access to locally produced virgin-quality PET plastic and polyester fibre made entirely from waste material. At full capacity, the facility is projected to save over 255,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, when compared to virgin PET resin made from fossil fuels. This CO2 reduction is comparable to the emissions from over 108 million litres of gasoline or over 1 billion kilometres driven by an average passenger vehicle. The majority of the incoming waste plastic feedstock for the facility is currently not recycled and contributes to the waste plastic pollution problem. The facility is aligned with European plastic regulation and objectives, such as the EU’s plastic levy, which charges €800 per tonne of non-recyclable plastic waste, as well as France’s ambition to transition to 100 per cent recyclable plastic by 2025.

Port-Jérôme was selected after an extensive review of several dozen potential sites across Europe. The Normandy region offers a skilled labour pool, favourable logistics and a supportive regional government which has articulated a clear vision of a more sustainable future focused on the circular economy. The Infinite Loop France manufacturing facility will create circularity in plastic packaging for leading global consumer brands based in France, including Danone, L’Oréal and L’Occitane, and help them meet their commitments for a high level of recycled plastic content. Loop and Danone’s development partnership spans over four years, during which time the businesses have worked in close collaboration to bring sustainable packaging to consumers, according to Loop.

“At Danone, we believe that cutting-edge technologies will be instrumental to reach our circularity and net zero climate ambition. The announcement of Loop’s first European facility in Port-Jérôme signals an important step to establish ‘infinite’ closed-loop recycling for PET bottles and enable the recycling of hard-to-recycle packaging and materials. This facility in France not only will sustain our transition to 100 per cent recycled PET in our packaging, it will also have a positive impact in the region and strengthen the local circular ecosystem,” Nicolas Grégoire, vice-president packaging cycle at Danone said in a statement.

“We are very pleased to know that Loop technology will soon be available in France to supply recycled PET plastic for our products. We consistently strive to deliver on our commitments to sustainability. By 2030, 100 per cent of the plastic used in our packaging will be either from recycled or bio-based sources. Our partnership with Loop Industries is aligned with our ambition,” Jacques Playe, head of packaging and development at L’Oréal said.