Expected outcomes
Expand state-accredited apprenticeship program
Launch diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programming to strengthen inclusive leadership capabilities of diverse teams
Broaden partnerships with women, minority and/or veteran-owned businesses
Minimize environmental impact through on-site solar and renewable heat generation via thermal batteries and next-generation molecular recycling
Activate Branches of Hope community vision, a new nonprofit for outreach and workforce development
Enable two-way communication on jobs, plastic waste diversion, and environmental impact mitigation
Frequently asked questions
The Longview site was selected due to synergies with existing infrastructure and operations, favorable energy supply and footprint, and access to Western and Central U.S. feedstock pools. The location also provides enough space for on-site renewable energy. We also know the talent pool in this area is strong, and we have incredibly talented team members already working at the site who will be instrumental in this project.
The investment includes operations that will prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, Eastman’s next-generation methanolysis unit to depolymerize waste, and a polymer facility to create virgin-quality materials for packaging and textiles.
With the expanded scope of the project to include thermal batteries and solar energy, we currently estimate the project to be approximately $1.2B before incentives. We are still early in the engineering process and working through significant inflation in capital costs.
We have targeted mechanical completion in the 2026/2027 time frame. However, we will expand the scope of the project to include thermal batteries and solar energy. We will work through the details and then refine the timeline to provide an update when appropriate.
We will have the capacity to recycle approximately 110,000 metric tons of hard-to-recycle plastic waste. The polymer production will be greater than this amount and dependent on the product mix.
The investment is expected to bring over 200 full-time, high-paying jobs to the Longview community in addition to approximately 1,000 temporary construction jobs during site development and building of the facility.
The company was selected by the OCED for award negotiations of up to $375 million in investment to accelerate the demonstration of industry-leading, low-carbon-intensity PET with this project. Reaching a collaborative agreement with the OCED enables expansion of the project scope to include the deployment of thermal heat batteries, on-site solar and our next-generation technology. This scope achieves a step change improvement in decarbonizing PET production.
Through the Branches of Hope initiative, Eastman plans to support the formalization of Branches of Hope as a nonprofit organization with its own executive and program director. The initiative will also include the remediation and renovation of the Paula Martin Jones Recreation Center to create a sustainable access point for centralized community services provided by Branches of Hope partners.
Eastman’s planned project in Longview is aligned with the OCED’s goal of demonstrating what is possible and catalyzing industry-wide change to a low-carbon future. Some key differentiators were the 1) magnitude of decarbonization and the level of technology maturity, 2) strength of our commercial strategy and agreements, and 3) community engagement and benefit plans.
We’re confident we will be able to reach a contractual agreement with the OCED. However, specific details of that agreement must be worked out between Eastman and the department. We expect to have a final contract signed sometime this summer and will continue to make progress on the project in the interim. The OCED’s goal is to get all 33 awardees under contract. In other words, no more narrowing of the field is planned.
