Invista (Wichita, Kan.; www.invista.com) says engineering for a 400,000-ton adiponitrile (ADN) plant in Shanghai, China is underway. The company’s estimated investment will be in excess of $1 billion (7 billion RMB). With support of the local authorities, we expect construction to start in 2020, and startup is expected to begin by 2022, Invista chairman and CEO Jeff Gentry says.
Representatives from Invista and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) signed a memorandum of cooperation at a ceremony today in Shanghai.
“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.
“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,” noted Gentry.
According to the memorandum of cooperation, 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 improve people’s quality of life. Applications include engineered plastics, automotive airbag fabric, high-performance coatings and specialty apparel fibers.