Origin Materials and Minafin Group Launch Manufacturing Initiative for Origin's First Commercial Plant

By: Origin Materials, Inc. via Business Wire

April 19, 2023 at 07:00 AM EDT

Green Chemistry Division of Minafin to serve as high-value conversion and manufacturing partner, improving downstream supply chain for novel chemistry

Origin Materials, Inc. (“Origin” or “Origin Materials”) (NASDAQ: ORGN, ORGNW), the world’s leading carbon negative materials company with a mission to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials, and the Green Chemistry Division (“GCD”) of the Minafin Group (“Minafin”), a global fine chemical company, today announced a new commercial arrangement whereby Minafin will become Origin’s manufacturing partner for the downstream supply chain of Origin 1, Origin’s first commercial manufacturing plant.

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The initiative, which expands on the companies’ previously announced strategic partnership to industrialize sustainable chemicals, aims to further build on the strengths of Origin’s patented technology platform, which turns the carbon found in sustainable wood residues into useful materials, and Minafin’s manufacturing capability, supply chain strength, and deep expertise in furanic specialty products.

As part of the manufacturing initiative, CMF (chloromethylfurfural) produced by Origin at Origin 1 will be delivered to Minafin, which will convert CMF into downstream intermediates and products. The initiative is expected to position the companies’ complementary technologies to grow the value of the bio-based supply chain for high-value chemicals and materials including bio-based PET (“polyethylene terephthalate”).

“Origin’s expanded relationship with the Green Chemistry Division of Minafin represents a key milestone in our mission to transition the world to sustainable materials,” said Origin Materials Co-CEO Rich Riley. “This partnership strengthens our supply chain at Origin 1, enhances our ability to leverage our versatile platform technology, and supports our commercialization strategy of developing higher-value applications for our intermediates. Minafin’s GCD team offers a valuable skill set and fully integrated capabilities in Memphis, Tennessee, seamlessly linking R&D, scale-up, engineering, and production. We are grateful to deepen our relationship with Minafin, with whom we share a common vision for the role that sustainable, carbon-negative materials can play in creating value worldwide.”

“We appreciate that the partnership with Origin Materials recognizes the Minafin GCD team, capabilities, and position as a global leader in furanic chemicals and materials. We are delighted to support Origin’s scale-up of their groundbreaking technology for converting biomass to value-added materials,” said Frederic Gauchet, Founder & President Minafin Group. “Minafin and Origin Materials are both deeply committed to accelerating the commercialization of bio-based and carbon-negative products to customers worldwide.”

About Origin Materials

Headquartered in West Sacramento, Origin Materials is the world's leading carbon negative materials company. Origin’s mission is to enable the world’s transition to sustainable materials. For over a decade, Origin has developed a platform for turning the carbon found in inexpensive, plentiful, non-food biomass such as sustainable wood residues into useful materials while capturing carbon in the process. Origin’s patented technology platform can help revolutionize the production of a wide range of end products, including clothing, textiles, plastics, packaging, car parts, tires, carpeting, toys, fuels, and more with a ~$1 trillion addressable market. In addition, Origin’s technology platform is expected to provide stable pricing largely decoupled from the petroleum supply chain, which is exposed to more volatility than supply chains based on sustainable wood residues. Origin’s patented drop-in core technology, economics and carbon impact are supported by a growing list of major global customers and investors.

For more information, visit www.originmaterials.com.

About Minafin Group

The Minafin Group is a leading developer and manufacturer of fine chemicals with three main areas of expertise: health chemistry, green chemistry, and challenging chemistry. Minafin operates six industrial manufacturing sites across Europe and North America. They provide customers in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture and hi-tech with a range of proprietary products, custom manufacturing, industrial process development and services, and multi-purpose green chemistry formulations. Minafin invests significantly in R&D to create value for customers by specializing in innovations and eco-friendly solutions that bring a competitive edge and sustainability. Its strong industrial capabilities are consolidated through seven business units: Minakem, Pennakem, Minasolve, Minagro, EcoXtract, Minascent and Pressure Chemicals, which generated over €300M in revenue. Founded in 2004 as a privately held industrial company, Minafin is headquartered in Belgium and employs 900+ staff. For more information, visit http://minafin.com/.

About Minafin Green Chemistry Division

Green Chemistry Division, a Division of the Belgian Minafin Group, is an innovative sustainable chemical company with a history of biobased chemicals development and manufacturing experience. It is comprised of Pennakem LLC, Minasolve^® and EcoXtract^®. Pennakem is the largest worldwide supplier of sustainable furfural-derived biobased products, with demonstrated value in pharmaceutical, agricultural, and rubber additive processes and environmentally friendly solvent applications. Pennakem is the leader in bringing biobased solutions to growing green chemistry and specialty chemicals markets. For more information, visit https://pennakem.com/. Founded in 2007, Minasolve^® is a supplier of ingredients and innovative solutions with a specific focus on personal care markets. Minasolve is delivering answers and solutions to consumer needs by developing high quality ingredients with established performance. For more information, visit https://minasolve.com. EcoXtract^® is a technological solution based on an extraction solvent made of 100% plantbased carbon, recyclable and whose safety has been proven and verified by EFSA in 2022. EcoXtract^® has a high potential in the extraction of oils, proteins of plant origin and natural lipophilic molecules, replacing hexane, a petrochemical neurotoxic for humans, which is still today the reference solution for food and cosmetic extraction. For more information, visit https://ecoxtract.com/.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Origin Materials’ business strategy, estimated total addressable market, access to traditional financing sources, budget and timelines to complete Origin 1 and Origin 2, ability to convert capacity reservations and offtake agreements into revenue, ability to enter new end-markets, ability to develop new product categories, commercial and operating plans, product development plans, anticipated growth and projected financial information and ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the partnership discussed in the press release. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the management of Origin Materials and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Origin Materials. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including that Origin Materials may be unable to successfully commercialize its products; the effects of competition on Origin Materials’ business; the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to Origin; disruptions and other impacts to Origin’s business as a result of outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the impact of severe weather events, and other global health or economic crises; changes in customer demand; and those factors discussed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 23, 2023 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents Origin Materials has filed, or will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Origin Materials presently does not know, or that Origin Materials currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Origin Materials’ expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Origin Materials anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its assessments to change. However, while Origin Materials may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Origin Materials specifically disclaim any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Origin Materials’ assessments of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.