Wu Qing, Vice Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government & Jeff Gentry, Chairman and CEO for Invista. © Invista

Representatives from Invista, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibres, and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) have signed a memorandum of cooperation for China adiponitrile (ADN) plant at a ceremony today in Shanghai.

Present at the event were Wu Qing, Vice Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government; Chen Mingbo, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal government and Director General of the Shanghai Economy Informatisation Commission; Ma Jing, Director General of the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Park Administration Commission; and Jeff Gentry, Chairman and CEO for Invista.

Engineering for a 400,000-ton ADN plant is underway at an estimated investment in excess of US$ 1 billion. With support of the local authorities, the company expects construction to start in 2020, and start-up is expected to begin by 2022.

“With this memorandum of cooperation and a commitment to work toward an investment agreement, we are pleased to be taking the next step toward finalizing the investment and its location,” said Jeff Gentry, Invista chairman and CEO. “Shanghai is an attractive location in part due to the benefits of integrating the new facility into our existing HMD and polymer plants at SCIP. Furthermore, the cooperation and support we’ve received from the Shanghai government and SCIP to advance this project give us confidence that we can work together to meet future milestones.”

According to the memorandum, Invista will advance its internal decision-making process for the project with strong support from the Shanghai government and SCIP, including commitment to intellectual property protections and joint efforts to execute an investment agreement.

ADN is the key ingredient in the production of nylon 6,6, a versatile polymer used in many applications that include engineered plastics, automotive airbag fabric, high-performance coatings and specialty apparel fibres. It is said to bring improved product yields, reduced energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced process stability and reduced capital intensity, compared to existing technologies.

www.invista.com

Further reading

Strong role for China ADN in future supply of nylon 6,6