Braskem America and Encina Announce Intent to Develop Circular Feedstock Agreement for Production of Recycled Polypropylene

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Braskem (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and leading producer of biopolymers in the world, today announces its collaboration with Encina Development Group ("Encina"), a leading provider of solutions to produce renewable chemicals, to develop a long-term relationship enabling the production of circular, recycled polypropylene (PP).

Encina's technology is able to produce renewable chemicals made from post-consumer plastic and the company is targeting to break ground on a new facility in the second half of 2021. Once completed, the facility is targeted to process 175,000 tons of plastic waste, converting it into more than 90,000 tons of recycled chemicals per year.  The plant will be designed to expand to 350,000 tons of incoming plastic waste in future phases.  Encina's new facility will leverage its proprietary technology that economically extracts chemicals from plastic through catalytic pyrolysis. The process utilizes mixed plastics from post-consumer sources, which are currently costly to recycle and often destined for landfills.

As part of the collaboration, Braskem will work closely with Encina to develop the necessary logistics, product quality and certifications for a recycled propylene feedstock that Braskem will use in the production of recycled PP materials in applications such as food packaging, consumer and hygiene products. The parties announce today their intent to develop a formal supply agreement prior to the project's financing approval in 2021.

Mark Nikolich, Braskem America CEO, states, "Encina's technology and this important project will divert thousands of tons of hard-to-recycle plastic from landfills. As the North American leader in polypropylene, Braskem is actively looking to purchase sustainable propylene feedstock that will allow us to increase both recycled and renewable-sourced products in our portfolio - as stated in our new Circular Economy commitments.  This agreement is an important step in our next phase of growth as a company, aimed at realizing our vision of a carbon neutral circular economy and helping our clients meet their aggressive recycled content goals in the years to come."

"We are very pleased to be working towards implementing our circular solution that directly addresses the global challenges of plastic waste we all see," said David Schwedel, Executive Director, Encina. "Braskem is a market leader and deeply committed to sustainability, and we are thrilled to be working with their sustainability team to make a significant change in the end-of-life for plastics."

Braskem is strongly committed to a world where nothing is wasted and everything is transformed. Recently, Braskem announced its new commitment to a Carbon Neutral Circular Economy, with clearly stated targets for growing their I'm green™ recycled products portfolio to sales of 300,000 tons by 2025 and 1 million tons by 2030.  Also, earlier this year Braskem became a founding member and funding partner of the Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, an initiative of The Recycling Partnership with a focus on increasing U.S. curbside recycling access for polypropylene and ensuring PP is widely recovered and reused. Braskem is also a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. 

To learn more about Braskem's commitment to a carbon neutral circular economy visit: https://www.braskem.com/usa/news-detail/braskem-affirms-commitment-to-circular-economy-and-to-achieve-carbon-neutrality-by-2050.  

ABOUT ENCINA

Encina Development Group implements solutions to produce renewable chemicals from waste plastics in the circular economy. Encina's advanced and proprietary technology converts mixed plastic wastes into a traceable, renewable source of industrial base chemicals and fuels. The company is committed to resolving one of today and tomorrow's greatest environmental challenges. For more information please visit: www.encina.com 

ABOUT BRASKEM

With a global vision of the future oriented towards people and sustainability, Braskem is committed to contributing to the value chain for strengthening the Circular Economy. The petrochemical company's almost 8,000 team members dedicate themselves every day to improve people's lives through sustainable chemicals and plastics solutions. Braskem has an innovative DNA and a comprehensive portfolio of plastic resins and chemical products for diverse segments, such as food packaging, construction, manufacturing, automotive, agribusiness, healthcare and hygiene, among others. With 40 industrial units in Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Germany, and net revenue of R$52.3 billion (US$13.2 billion), Braskem exports its products to clients in more than 100 countries.

Braskem America is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Braskem S.A. headquartered in Philadelphia. The company is the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, with six production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, and operations in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. For more information, visit www.braskem.com/usa.  

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on our management's current view and estimates of future economic and other circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results, including Braskem's commitments to sustainability. The words "commits," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the implementation of operating, financing and other strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting our financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of our management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.  Please refer to our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 filed with the SEC, as well as any subsequent filings made by us pursuant to the Exchange Act, each of which is available on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov), for a full discussion of the risks and other factors that may impact any forward-looking statements in this presentation.

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SOURCE Braskem

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