Origin Materials

Origin Materials produces isolated chemicals from carbon found in wood-based feedstock that serves as building blocks for more advanced applications, such as bio-based plastic bottles. The company uses proprietary technology to produce two versatile resins, furan chloromethyl furfural (CMF) and hydrothermal carbon (HTC). The feedstock comes from woody biomass (sustainably harvested wood) or other waste materials like agricultural waste, wood waste, and old cardboard, without the use of expensive sugars or fermentation. The company’s HTC product was being developed to be used for several purposes including tire filler, carbon black, activated carbon, and agricultural applications. 

The company also developed carbon black blends that match or exceed the performance of traditional fossil-based carbon black for N660, a widely used performance specification for automotive tires and mechanical rubber goods.

Origin Materials announced in January 2023 the mechanical completion of Origin 1, the company's first commercial manufacturing plant. As part of mechanical completion, the plant's mechanical systems have been installed, and commissioning was expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2023, with start-up following shortly thereafter. Origin Materials also announced in February 2022 that it had selected a location in Geismar, Louisiana as a location for Origin 2, which would reportedly process 1 million dry metric tons of wood feedstock.

The company merged with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Artius Acquisition Inc. in February 2021. Following the transaction, Origin was listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker “ORGN” at an equity value of USD 1.8 billion. 

Key customers and partnerships

Origin Materials partnered with Nestlé Waters and Danone in 2016 to commercialize plant-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic using CMF and convert it into para-xylene to develop low-carbon plastic. PepsiCo joined this alliance in 2018. The company also partnered with Drive Sustainability (a collaborative commitment group, formed by 11 global automotive manufacturers) to join the latter’s “ Drive+” sustainability platform and gain access to a network of automotive manufacturers. In April 2023, the company formed a strategic partnership with SCG Packaging (SCGP), a multinational consumer packaging solutions provider, to explore licensing Origin's technology for use in an ASEAN-based manufacturing facility.

For product development, Origin has partnered with Mitsui & Co. Ltd (to develop advanced carbon-negative materials for a variety of industries including automotive, electronics, packaging, and textiles), Minafin Group (to produce high-value, bio-based chemicals on an industrial scale), Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (MCHG), Intertex , and ATC Plastics (to develop and commercialize carbon negative carbon-black), Revlon (to develop and carbon-negative packaging for Revlon’s cosmetic products and supply bio-based PET), and Husky (to incorporate the sustainable chemical furandicarboxylic acid [FDCA] for advanced packaging and other applications).

As of Q4 2021 , the company’s signed offtake agreements and capacity reservations value stood at USD 5.6 billion. Origin Materials continued to grow in capacity reservations, signing multi-year capacity reservation agreements with LVMH Beauty in April 2022 to supply bio-based PET to the latter’s perfumes and cosmetics products and with specialty chemicals manufacturer Kuraray in June 2022 to supply bio-based resins for the production of bio-based PTA and PET. Origin Materials also signed a multi-year capacity reservation agreement with Hyosung Advanced Materials, a Korean industrial materials company, to supply materials including PET and a hybrid polymer PET/F (a blend of PET and FDCA).

In February 2023 , the company partnered with Avantium, a leading technology company specializing in advanced R&D for applications in the energy, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, to accelerate the mass production of FDCA and Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF) for use in advanced chemicals and plastics. In May 2023, it partnered with Indorama Ventures to commercialize the production of bio-based materials. 

Funding and Financials

The SPAC transaction in 2021 provided USD 925 million in fresh capital to the company, which included USD 725 million of cash held by the SPAC and private investments of USD 200 million from investors such as Danone, Nestlé, and Pepsico. Origin had also received USD 40 million in funding in 2017 via the Nestlé/Danone partnership. In January 2023 , Origin Materials announced that the Louisiana State Bond Commission unanimously approved the issuance of up to USD 1.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds to fund the construction of Origin 2, the company's first world-scale manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana. In September 2023, the company recieved funding from BioMADE , a US Department of Defense (DoD) Manufacturing Innovation Instituteto develop bio-based polymers and bio-based carbon black samples. 

Origin Materials reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of USD 31 million in FY2022 compared with USD 20 million in FY2021. The company expected an increase in EBITDA loss between USD 50 million and USD 60 million in FY2023. The company was yet to generate revenue in FY2022, but provided FY 2023 revenue guidance of USD 40 million–USD 60 million.