US biodegradable polymer supplier Danimer Scientific (Bainbridge, Georgia; www.danimerscientific.com) said it is investing USD 700m (EUR 582m) for an upgrade of its headquarters site, adding a new production hall and nearly quadrupling its workforce from the current 100 employees. The company’s biodegradable and compostable materials, based on renewable materials such as its “Nodax” PHA, are used in food packaging, bottling, additives, aqueous coatings, fibres, filaments, films, hot-melt adhesives, and injection-moulded items. A company goal is to replace conventional plastics with 100% renewable and biodegradable versions.

The company said it expects to break ground in Bainbridge in the first quarter of 2022 for a new PHA plant with a capacity of 114,000 t/y. Completion is anticipated in two phases, with an initial three fermenters expected to be operational in mid-2023 and the second set of three fermenters scheduled to come online in early 2024.

Danimer completed its first commercial-scale plant with 9,000 t/y of capacity at Winchester, Kentucky / USA in March 2020, and available production there is to be expanded to 30,000 t/y by 2022. The company reported 2020 sales of USD 47m and recently announced a partnership with sweets manufacturer Mars-Wrigley to develop compostable packaging for its products, with “Skittles” tapped to be the first brand to use the new packaging.