Dow and New Energy Blue announced a long-term supply agreement in North America in which New Energy Blue will create bio-based ethylene from renewable agricultural residues. Dow expects to purchase this bio-based ethylene, reducing carbon emissions from plastic production, and using it in recyclable applications across transportation, footwear, and packaging.
Dow’s agreement with New Energy Blue, staffed by experts with deep experience in bio-conversion ventures, is the first agreement in North America to generate plastic source materials from corn stover (stalks and leaves). This is also Dow’s first agreement in North America to utilize agriculture residues for plastic production.
“We are unlocking the value of agriculture residues in this new partnership with New Energy Blue,” said Karen S. Carter, Dow President of Packaging & Specialty Products. “By committing to purchase their bio-based ethylene, we are helping to enable innovations in waste recycling, meeting demands for bio-based plastics from customers, and strengthening an ecosystem for diverse and renewable solutions.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dow is supporting the design of New Energy Freedom, a new facility in Mason City, Iowa, that is expected to process 275KT of corn stover per year and produce commercial quantities of second-generation ethanol and clean lignin. Nearly half of the ethanol will be turned into bio-based ethylene feedstock for Dow products. This agreement also gives Dow similar commercial supply options for the next four future New Energy Blue projects, supporting New Energy Blue’s ability to scale its production and support farmers by providing a reliable market for agricultural residues. The five projects are expected to displace over one million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every year. Dow’s
Dow‘s share of these five projects will also lead to a reduction in its sourcing of fossil fuels and subsequent GHG emissions.
This agreement would play a pivotal role in Dow’s approach to building material ecosystems that value, source, and transform waste into circular products. By collaborating with the best partners and technologies for collection, reuse, and recycling of waste – in this case, using a renewable resource – Dow enables global material ecosystems to scale.
SOURCE: PR Newswire