LG Chem announced on Tuesday, Sept. 14, that it has teamed up with Archer Daniels Midland for a joint venture to produce bioplastic made with corn. Starting in 2025, the Korean chemical company and the Chicago, Illinois headquartered food processing and commodities trading corporation are aiming to produce 75,000 tons of corn-based bioplastic a year.
The Korea Herald reported that although the press release was posted on the said date, the agreement was actually signed earlier, on Monday. The two firms are set to launch their venture in the United States within the first quarter of 2022.
They will be manufacturing corn-based lactic acid and poly lactic acid (PLA) bioplastic that is commonly used for food packaging, clothing, upholstery, and disposable silverware. An LG Chem official said that with the project, the company became the first Korean firm to build a PLA factory in the U.S.
The company’s vice chairman and chief executive officer, Shin Hak Cheol, said that its partnership with ADM marks the beginning of a new journey toward a sustainable business for the good of the environment and society.
The deal between LG Chem and ADM will allow the former to obtain a strong supply of raw materials and speed up its effort to commercialize bioplastics to help curb plastic waste and contribute to addressing climate change.
Aju Business Daily mentioned that the corn-based raw materials for producing bioplastics are made from agricultural by-products and used plastic bottles. These are eco-friendly materials that naturally decompose in several months due to microorganisms.
In any case, PLA is a biodegradable plastic that is made through fermentation and refining of glucose that were extracted from corn. LG Chem is joining forces with ADM that has technical expertise in the production of such glucose which is the most important raw material for the corn-based bioplastic.
"The establishment of a joint venture with AMD will be the start of a new journey that goes beyond simple cooperation to lead the transition to a sustainable business structure for the benefit of the environment and society," LG Chem CEO Shin Hak Cheol said in a press release. “We will continue to actively seek out new ways to contribute to carbon-neutral growth as a leader for sustainability.”


Snowflake Forecasts Strong Fiscal 2027 Revenue Growth as Enterprise AI Demand Surges
APEX Tech Acquisition Inc. Raises $111.97 Million in NYSE IPO Under Ticker TRADU
Tokyo Core Inflation Slows Below 2%, Complicating BOJ Rate Hike Outlook
Lynas Rare Earths Shares Surge on Strong Half-Year Earnings and Rising Global Demand
Pentagon Weighs Supply Chain Risk Designation for Anthropic Over Claude AI Use
MOEX Russia Index Hits 3-Month High as Energy Stocks Lead Gains
Toyota Plans $19 Billion Share Sale in Major Corporate Governance Reform Move
U.S. Stock Futures Fall as Nvidia Drops Despite Strong Earnings; Netflix Jumps 9%
Meta Signs Multi-Billion Dollar AI Chip Deal With Google to Power Next-Gen AI Models
OpenAI Hires Former Meta and Apple AI Leader Ruomin Pang Amid Intensifying AI Talent War
FedEx Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Tariff Refunds After Supreme Court Ruling
Middle East Airspace Shutdown Disrupts Global Flights After U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran
Netflix Stock Jumps 14% After Exiting Warner Bros Deal as Paramount Seals $110 Billion Acquisition
Strait of Hormuz LNG Crisis Triggers Global Energy Market Shock
U.S. Stocks Close Lower as Hot PPI Data, Nvidia Slide Weigh on Wall Street
Greg Abel’s First Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter Signals Continuity, Caution, and Capital Discipline
Paramount Skydance to Acquire Warner Bros Discovery in $110 Billion Media Mega-Deal 



