Plants: BASF closes EPS production in South Korea; Carbios/Wankai PET recycling plant in China postponed to 2028

German chemicals firm BASF has decided to close its expandable polystyrene (EPS) production assets at the Ulsan Plastics site in South Korea. The cessation of production operations is targeted for mid‑June 2026.

This decision is part of BASF’s ongoing strategic review and efforts to optimise its global styrenics production setup and enhance competitiveness in response to evolving market conditions.

“Our priority is sustainable value creation. This decision reflects our commitment to proactively align our production footprint with market realities and reinforce our long-term competitiveness,” said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. “We will continue to evaluate optimization opportunities and focus on assets that provide the strongest strategic advantage.”

BASF says it remains committed to supporting its customers during the transition and ensuring reliable and continuous supply.

The company has a strong market position in Europe, supported by its fully backward‑integrated production setup, which provides a solid foundation for its global styrenics business.

BASF's European styrenics operations are not affected by the closure of the EPS production in South Korea.

Meanwhile in other news, French firm Carbios has provided an update on the progress of its strategic partnership with Wankai New Materials in PET biorecycling in Asia. It added, “given the innovative nature of the process developed by Carbios, which entails additional technical work to adapt to the specific characteristics of the site, Carbios indicates that the commissioning of this plant, located in Haining (Zhejiang Province), has been postponed and is now expected to take place by H1 2028.

With a processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes of PET waste per year, this industrial facility will represent a key milestone in the industrialisation and deployment of Carbios’ enzymatic biorecycling technology in Asia.

While the industrial project jointly led with Wankai is moving forward, with progress being made in the preparatory steps required to oversee and coordinate the construction of China’s first PET biorecycling plant, as well as in the validation of locally available waste streams, it states that both companies have mutually agreed to postpone Wankai’s subscription to a dedicated capital increase of EUR5 million in the share capital of Carbios SA. This transaction, initially planned for the first half of 2026, is now expected to take place by December 31, 2026

Carbios also stated it closed fiscal year 2025 with a solid cash position of EUR59 million on a Group basis, including its subsidiaries, enabling it to cover its operating expenses well beyond the next 12 months. This financial visibility provides the company with the necessary resources to execute its strategic priorities and continue advancing its projects, it stated.

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