Origin Materials Demo Plant Under Construction.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

Origin Materials’ demonstration plant planned for Sarnia is under construction, but just not where city residents are likely to see it yet.

The California-based bio-chemical company has been planning for more than a year to set up a “pioneer” plant on land at the Arlanxeo site in Sarnia to demonstrate its technology for producing bio-based chemicals for use in making plastic and other products.

The plant was announced in June 2017, along with an investment in the company through Sarnia-based Bioindustrial Innovation Canada’s Sustainable Chemistry Alliance fund.

“We’ve been fabricating and procuring all of the major pieces of equipment,” said John Bissell, CEO and co-founder of Origin Materials.

The plant is being constructed in modules being fabricated at sites around North America. 

Those modules will be shipped to the Sarnia plant site, which is an approximately 2-acre piece of land at Arlanxeo, next to Vidal Street.

Bissell said local civil, electrical and mechanical site construction work is expected to go out for bids in the next “couple of months.”

There are advantages to modular construction of a bio-chemical plant but one downside is that “you don’t end up getting the visual progression of the project, locally,” he said.

“A bunch of stuff happens off-site that you don’t see.”

Before the modules that will make up the plant are delivered, on-site work will be required to lay pipe and set up electrical connections and other site preparations.

“That will start pretty soon,” Bissell said.

Link to the rest here.

Images. Origin Materials, Zach Neal.

Thank you for reading.