Origin Materials and Minafin Group Form Strategic Partnership to Industrialize Carbon-Negative Chemicals and Materials

February 07, 2022 at 07:00 AM EST

The Green Chemistry Division of Minafin and Origin are entering into a strategic partnership to industrialize specialty chemicals based on Origin’s carbon-negative materials.

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 of the Minafin Group (“Minafin”), a global specialty chemical company, are entering into a strategic partnership to industrialize high-value specialty materials based on Origin’s carbon-negative materials.

The partnership includes multiple collaboration areas and is an important milestone for bringing cost-competitive biobased products to the market, with applications in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetics and personal care, and automotive industries. As part of the partnership, Minafin affiliate Pennakem aims to develop new technologies with Origin to further expand the market for Pennakem’s biobased products. Through this partnership, Origin aims to develop and industrialize additional high-value products based on its core technology platform, leveraging the proprietary technologies, manufacturing know-how and customer relationships of Minafin.

In addition, Minafin business unit EcoXtract® is in discussions with Origin to commercialize its revolutionary biobased extraction process using sustainable carbon-negative materials produced by Origin. The EcoXtract® process efficiently extracts useful plant oils for food, cosmetics, and other applications.

“Partnering with the Green Chemistry Division of Minafin is a significant milestone in our mission to transition the world to sustainable materials,” said Origin Materials Co-CEO Rich Riley. “The opportunity for working together is remarkably broad, and we are excited to collaboratively develop high-value products. Minafin brings technologies and know-how to the table that will further enable us to deliver value across a broad spectrum of specialty chemicals end markets.”

“This partnership with Origin Materials will play a significant role in realizing further potential for our products and technologies across the globe and attests to the new structure within Minafin Group,” added Gust Desmedt, CEO of the Green Chemistry Division of Minafin. “This partnership will enable our customers to accelerate their switch to our innovative biobased alternatives through improved competitiveness and supply reliability.”

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, 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 Pennakem, LLC

Pennakem, an affiliate of the Belgian Minafin Group, is an innovative specialty chemical company with over 60 years of biobased chemicals development and manufacturing experience. Pennakem is the largest worldwide supplier of specialty 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/.

About EcoXtract®

EcoXtract®, a business unit of the Belgian Minafin Group, is bringing to the feed market a 100% biobased and safe extraction solution for oils, plant proteins and natural ingredients. This breakthrough and award-winning innovation is biobased (made from non-food feedstocks), safer for human health (same classification as ethanol) and with CO₂ impact ten times lower than the currently used petrochemical solvent. For more information, visit https://ecoxtract.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 €243M in revenue in 2020. 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/.

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, our ability to develop additional high-value products beyond our core CMF platform and ability to realize the anticipated benefits of any partnerships 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; disruptions and other impacts to Origin Materials’ business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health or economic crises; changes in customer demand; and those factors discussed in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021 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.