West Sacramento chemical and green technology company Origin Materials has joined a partnership with a leading fiber company to commercialize Origin’s zero-carbon plastic in high-performance apparel and automotive applications worldwide.
The announcement comes as Origin Materials is on the verge of becoming a publicly traded company through a $925 million merger with Artius Acquisition Inc., a New York-based publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.
The partnership is with AECI SANS Technical Fibers, which is based in North Carolina and sells fiber across the globe.
“AECI SANS Technical Fibers and Origin Materials share a collective vision of producing sustainable materials that make the transition to net zero carbon possible,” said Origin Materials co-CEO Rich Riley, in a news release. “With SANS’s extensive reach into global supply chains across a wide range of end markets, we believe this partnership will result in a significant reduction in carbon emissions and will play a key role in Origin Materials’ mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials.”
Under the partnership, the companies will produce fiber for clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys and other applications.
Artius Acquisition (Nasdaq: AACQU) is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, formed last year to make investments in promising technology companies. SPACs, which are sometimes referred to as blank-check companies, have no specific business plans or purpose other than to pursue mergers or acquisitions.
Origin co-CEO John Bissell told the Business Journal recently that corporate interest in Origin Materials’ non-petroleum technology has been growing in recent years as companies look for ways to decarbonize.
Origin Materials uses patented techniques that use wood extracts to replace petroleum to make a more environmentally beneficial material to replace plastic for containers for food and beverages. Some of its early partners include international food companies Nestle SA, Danone SA and PepsiCo Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP). Those partners and others are expected to continue their investment through the transaction, according to a news release from Artius.
SANS is a wholly owned subsidiary of AECI Ltd., a strategic investor in Origin Materials.
Following the merger, Origin will continue to be led by co-founders and co-CEOs Bissell and Riley. Its ticker symbol will be “ORGN” on the Nasdaq Stock Market, and the company will begin trading under that symbol this quarter, said spokesman Cory Ziskind, via email.
Source: Sacramento Business Journal – Origin Materials joins with fiber company to reach global market