Hyosung TNC to build a $1 billion spandex materials plant in Vietnam

Industry

Published: 03 Apr. 2024, 14:33 Updated: 03 Apr. 2024, 17:51

Hyosung TNC to build a $1 billion spandex materials plant in Vietnam

Lee Sang-woon, right, vice chairman of Hyosung, and Tran Hong Ha, vice prime minister of Vietnam, take a photo as Hyosung TNC decided a $1 billion investment to build spandex materials plant in Vietnam. [HYOSUNG]

Hyosung TNC will invest $1 billion to build a spandex materials plant in Vietnam to take the lead in the fast-growing eco-friendly fiber market.

The investment plan comes as the company received approval for the "Hyosung Butanediol Project" from the Vietnamese government on March 30.

The plant in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province will produce butanediol, which is manufactured by fermenting sugars derived from sugarcane, which can replace traditional raw fossil materials such as coal by 100 percent.

Butanediol is an important raw material in manufacturing spandex, plastics and films, and the application these days have expanded to include engineering plastics, biodegradable packaging, soles for footwear, industrial compounds and many other products.

Ground will be broken later this year, with production scheduled to start in the first half of 2026 with 50,000 tons of annual capacity, which will eventually be increased to 200,000 tons.

"The bio business, which transforms conventional raw fossil materials into eco-friendly ones, will become a core pillar of Hyosung for the next 100 years,” said Hyosung Group chairman Cho Hyun-joon. “We will enhance Hyosung's premium brand status by strengthening our global sustainable market penetration based on our consistent production system of butanediol and spandex."

In October, Hyosung formed a technology partnership with San Diego-based Geno to use the materials company’s clean butanediol technology. Its butanediol offers an estimated 90 percent carbon avoidance compared to conventional coal-based butanediol in the market.

If all butanediol were to be produced using this technology, over 14 million tons of greenhouse gases per year would be eliminated, equivalent to taking 3 million cars off the road, Hyosung said.

Eco-friendly fiber sales account for only four percent of Hyosung TNC's total fiber sales as as of now. The company aims to increase that to 20 percent by 2030.

The global sustainable textile and fashion market, which is valued at about $23 billion this year, will grow at an annual rate of 12.5 percent to reach $75 billion in 2030.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]