Huvis (CEO Kim, Suk Hyun, 079980), specializing in chemical and fiber materials, announced on the 20th that it has started commercial production of Ecoever LM, a chemically regenerated LMF (Low Melting Fiber) with a capacity of 16,000 tons per year. 

Ecoever LM is the world’s first chemically regenerated LMF product developed using raw materials chemically recycled from plastic waste, which not only reduces the use of crude oil, but also cuts carbon dioxide emissions by half, depending on the content of recycled raw materials. 

Unlike physical recycling, where the quality deteriorates with repeated recycling, PET polymers are chemically degraded into small molecules and then re-polymerized, so the quality does not decrease even with repeated recycling, making it a popular material for automotive interiors such as dashboards, headliners, seats and door panels. 

Huvis participated in the Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s Industrial Source Technology Development Project in 2010 and completed the development of chemical recycling technology, but faced difficulties in commercialization due to low awareness of recycled materials and high production costs. Recently, however, interest in recycled materials to reduce carbon dioxide has increased worldwide, and the technical capability of chemical recycling has also improved, leading to the commercial production of Ecoever LM.

Europe, a major market for environmentally friendly vehicles, is planning to further expand and revise the End of Life Vehicle (ELV) Regulation in terms of the percentage of recycled materials used in the production of new vehicles and the recycling rate of end-of-life vehicles from 2031. According to the revised legislation, 25 percent of the plastic used in vehicles (approximately 300 kilograms per vehicle) must be made from recycled materials, of which 30 percent must be recycled materials recovered from scrapped vehicles, accelerating the transition to recyclable materials. In line with this global trend, the demand for recycled materials from the global automotive industry, including Hyundai Motor Company, is increasing every year. In response, Huvis has focused on strengthening its eco-friendly materials portfolio, and Huvis’ specialty product line has been growing steadily every year. 

“We are excited to contribute to domestic resource recycling and localization of chemical recycled materials by starting commercial production of Ecoever LM,” said Kim, Suk Hyun, CEO of Huvis. “We will continue to strengthen our portfolio of differentiated green products as there is a high level of interest and demand for chemical recycling in various fields such as industrial and interior materials, as well as the automotive industry.” (end)