Ester Industries’ 50:50 joint venture with Loop Industries has secured a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) from a global sports and athletic brand for the supply of up to 15,000 tonnes of Loop PET fibre-grade resin annually.
The resin will be supplied from the upcoming manufacturing facility of Ester Loop Infinite Technologies (ELITe) in Gujarat, which is expected to become operational in 2028, according to Ester.
The LOI follows an earlier agreement with global sportswear brand Nike. With the latest commitment, a substantial portion of the facility’s planned annual capacity is now covered by commitments from global sports brands ahead of its commercial start-up.
The facility, which is expected to become operational in 2028, will use Loop’s proprietary depolymerization technology to convert 100% polyester textile waste into virgin-quality monomers DMT and MEG, which will then be polymerized into polyester resin. Initial resin testing and feedstock validation work has already produced positive preliminary results, supporting the next stages of full material qualification and long-term supply chain integration with global brand partners.
The project is aimed at scaling circular textile manufacturing, reducing dependence on virgin fossil fuel-based polyester and building low-carbon supply chains across global markets.
Meanwhile, ELITe’s India facility remains on track, with land acquisition expected to conclude within the next two to three months. Following completion of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) by Tata Consulting Engineers, ELITe has awarded the detailed engineering contract to Toyo Engineering India Private Limited.
“We are pleased to share that our JV partner, Loop Industries, has secured interest from another premier global brand for the upcoming ELITe facility. With Nike already on board as our anchor customer, this second commitment from a premier sports brand reaffirms the strong market demand for circular, textile-to-textile recycled polyester, and further validates ELITe’s strategic position in accelerating sustainable manufacturing globally,” said Mr. Arvind Singhania, Chairman, Ester Industries Limited.
Loop Industries Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Solomita said, “This agreement is a strong validation of our technology’s ability to deliver virgin-quality, sustainable resin at commercial scale. As we move ELITe towards operations in 2028, growing interest from global brands reinforces the demand we’re seeing for infinitely recyclable PET, and strengthens the long-term commercial case for this facility.”
