LyondellBasell has broken ground on the first commercial Hyperzone polyethylene (PE) plant at its La Porte, TX, USA, complex. The plant will be capable of producing 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) of the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) annually. Startup of the plant is planned for 2019. It will employ 75 people and is part of LyondellBasell’s plan for $3-5 billion of investments along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Hyperzone PE technology allows customers to produce cost-effective, light weight plastics that are strong, durable, and widely recyclable. In addition, a broad spectrum of HDPE products can be produced in one single plant whereas previous technologies require multiple plants.

The La Porte Complex is one of LyondellBasell’s largest manufacturing facilities spanning approximately 550 acres. The company chose to build the new plant there because of its proximity to price-advantaged U.S. feedstocks and the transportation infrastructure needed to ship the product to markets across the globe.

• LyondellBasell, Rotterdam, The Netherlands