Sustainea
Sustainea Bioglycols, a Braskem–Sojitz joint venture, manufactures drop-in bio-MEG and bio-MPG from plant-based sugars for global PET packaging, textile, construction, and cosmetics manufacturers, with its first U.S. plant under development in Lafayette, Indiana.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersSão Paulo, Brazil
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sustainea does
Sustainea Bioglycols is a private joint venture between Braskem (Brazil) and Sojitz Corporation (Japan), incorporated in 2022 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, with a regional office in São Paulo. The company manufactures bio-based monoethylene glycol (Bio-MEG) and monopropylene glycol (Bio-MPG) from renewable plant-based carbohydrates (primarily corn-derived dextrose, with optionality across sugarcane, wheat, and sugar beet) using a fermentation and catalytic conversion process originally developed by Braskem starting in 2017, with first demonstration-scale bio-MEG samples produced in 2020. Sustainea's products are positioned as drop-in replacements for fossil-derived MEG and MPG, enabling packaging, textile, construction, cosmetics, and industrial-fluid manufacturers to lower the carbon footprint of PET, polyester fiber, unsaturated polyester resin, and functional fluids without changing their production processes.
The company operates a B2B enterprise sales model, selling directly to large industrial manufacturers of PET packaging (beverage bottles, food containers), polyester fibers for apparel and footwear, UPR for construction, and solvents/emollients for cosmetics and personal care. Distribution leverage comes from Sojitz's entrenched presence in Asia, which accounts for approximately 80% of the global MEG market. Sustainea's go-to-market is supported by a small leadership team (CEO Gustavo Sergi, CBO Éverton Van-Dal, CFO Yuichi Hattori, CTO Gus Hutras, CLO Thuane Pisciottano) and a board representing both parents (Braskem and Sojitz executives).
Commercialization is in pre-production phase: Sustainea's first U.S. industrial Bio-MEG plant is under development in Lafayette, Indiana, co-located with Primient for corn-dextrose supply, with a $400 million investment, up to 191 planned jobs, and production targeted for 2028. The company's stated long-term plan includes three industrial plants with combined capacity of up to 700,000 tons of bio-MEG per year, complemented by multi-year capacity reservation agreements with Origin Materials for bio-based PTA and FDCA to enable 100% bio-based PET and polyesters.
Sustainea firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sustainea
- Legal name
- Sustainea
- Website
- https://sustaineabio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sustainea Bioglycols, a Braskem–Sojitz joint venture, manufactures drop-in bio-MEG and bio-MPG from plant-based sugars for global PET packaging, textile, construction, and cosmetics manufacturers, with its first U.S. plant under development in Lafayette, Indiana.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sustainea industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Renewable Chemicals
- NAICS
- Petrochemical Manufacturing (32511)
- SIC
- Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial Alcohols & Glycols (Commodity Grade) (IMAEAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Biochemicals & Bio-based Platform Chemicals (cellulose sugars, lignin derivatives, organic acids) (IMAMALAB)
Keywords
Where Sustainea is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- São Paulo
- HQ country
- Brazil
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sustainea business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Bio-MEG Sales: Sale of bio-MEG (monoethylene glycol) produced from renewable plant-based feedstocks. Bio-MEG is used as a raw material for manufacturing polyester fiber and PET resin, serving packaging and textile industries.
- Bio-MPG Sales: Sale of bio-MPG (monopropylene glycol) for industrial applications including unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), functional fluids, cosmetics, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Sustainea product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sustainea manufactures and sells bio-based monoethylene glycol (Bio-MEG) and bio-based monopropylene glycol (Bio-MPG) produced from renewable plant-based carbohydrate feedstocks such as sugarcane and corn sugar. These glycols are sold as drop-in replacements for fossil-derived MEG and MPG to industrial customers in packaging, textiles, automotive, construction, and personal care applications seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their finished products.
Product overview
Sustainea offers a portfolio of bio-based glycol products—Bio-MEG (monoethylene glycol) and Bio-MPG (monopropylene glycol)—produced from plant-based carbohydrates (primarily corn-derived dextrose). These products serve as drop-in renewable alternatives to fossil-derived chemicals, enabling the packaging, textiles, and industrial sectors to reduce their carbon footprint. Bio-MEG is used primarily for PET production (beverage bottles, food containers, polyester fibers), while Bio-MPG serves industrial applications including unsaturated polyester resins, functional fluids, and cosmetics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bio-MEG (bio-monoethylene glycol) Bio-based monoethylene glycol produced from renewable plant-based carbohydrate feedstocks such as sugarcane and corn sugar; designed as a drop-in replacement for fossil-derived MEG in PET resins, polyester fibers, automotive coolants, and unsaturated polyester resins for industrial converters seeking lower-carbon feedstocks.
- Bio-MPG (bio-monopropylene glycol)
Quantifiable outcome
- 400,000 tons of CO2e emissions avoided per year by Lafayette facility
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sustainea
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sustainea technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sustainea partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Primient (Regenerative Agriculture)corePartnership to launch a 1,000-acre regenerative agriculture project in Lafayette, Indiana. Initiative empowers Indiana farmers, improves soil health, increases carbon sequestration, and enables climate-smart sourcing for Sustainea's Bio-MEG plant. Primient provides farmers with tools, insights, and economic support for regenerative practices including no till farming, crop rotation, and cover crops.
- Purdue University (CISTAR and LEAPS)supportingCollaboration with Purdue University's College of Engineering, particularly through the Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) and Leading Energy-Transition Advances and Pathways to Sustainability (LEAPS) programs. Partnership supports positioning Lafayette as a hub for sustainable chemical and biomanufacturing in the Midwest.
- PrimientcoreStrategic co-location partnership where Primient supplies corn-based dextrose from its Lafayette, Indiana facility to Sustainea's first U.S. Bio-MEG plant. Partnership includes collaboration on regenerative agriculture initiatives supporting Indiana farmers, with Primient's program providing tools and economic support for regenerative practices since 2018. Jim Stutelberg, CEO of Primient, noted aligned vision and mission between the companies.
- Origin MaterialscoreStrategic partnership to develop 100% bio-based PET and polyesters. Sustainea signed multi-year capacity reservation agreements to purchase renewable chemicals from Origin Materials including bio-based PTA and bio-based FDCA. Partnership aims to bring bioMEG and bioPET to market as drop-in solutions for the polyester industry growing by 3.5 million tons annually.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sustainea competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Genomatica: U.S. biotech developer of bio-based process technologies for major intermediate chemicals (e.g., 1,3-butylene glycol, butanediol). Pursues biology-based routes to commodity glycols and intermediates, putting it in direct technological competition with Sustainea's sugar-to-glycol platform.
- Indorama Ventures: World's largest PET producer and a leading buyer of MEG for PET resin production. Has made public commitments to incorporate bio-MEG into its PET portfolio, making it both an existing off-taker candidate and a strategic downstream player comparable to Sustainea's customer set.
- LanzaTech: Gas-fermentation biotech producing bio-ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from industrial emissions, with expansion pathways into additional platform chemicals. Competes for sustainability-driven capital and downstream chemical offtake that overlap with Sustainea's bio-based glycol strategy.
Direct peers
- Avantium: Dutch technology company developing bio-MEG via its Renewable Chemetals program as part of its plant-based monomer platform (alongside FDCA/PEF). Competes directly with Sustainea in the bio-MEG space and shares the same downstream PET/polyester value-chain focus.
- Origin Materials: U.S.-listed (NASDAQ: ORGN) producer of carbon-negative bio-based chemicals including bio-PTA and bio-FDCA, used to make 100% bio-based PET alongside bio-MEG. Sustainea has a multi-year capacity-reservation partnership with Origin, making it a directly complementary bio-based polyester monomer peer.
Others
- Cargill: Global agribusiness and bio-based intermediates producer via its NatureWorks joint venture and industrial bio-products business. While not a direct glycols competitor, it provides comparable upstream agricultural-feedstock industrial linkages and serves overlapping bio-based materials customers.
Broad incumbents
- Mitsubishi Chemical Group: Japanese chemical major producing MEG and propylene glycol at scale, with sustainability programs around bio-based and recycled feedstocks. Operates in the same Japanese commercial orbit as Sustainea co-parent Sojitz and supplies comparable downstream PET/polyester customers.
- BASF: Global chemical major producing conventional MEG and MPG at massive scale, with growing bio-based and chemical-recycling programs. Represents the entrenched petrochemical incumbent that Sustainea's drop-in bio-glycols must displace.
- Braskem: Parent JV partner of Sustainea and the world's largest biopolymers producer (I'm Green bio-PE from sugarcane). Operates as a broad bio-based chemicals incumbent whose portfolio includes bio-polyethylene that is sold into the same sustainable packaging customers Sustainea targets via bio-MEG.
- NatureWorks: World's largest PLA biopolymer producer (Ingeo), jointly owned by Cargill and PTT Global Chemical. While focused on PLA rather than MEG, NatureWorks serves the same end-customers (brand owners seeking bio-based plastics) with renewable feedstock-derived resins.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sustainea social profiles
Digital presenceSustainea compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Sustainea financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sustainea leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Sustainea funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sustainea M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sustainea
What does Sustainea do?
Sustainea manufactures and sells bio-based monoethylene glycol (Bio-MEG) and bio-based monopropylene glycol (Bio-MPG) produced from renewable plant-based carbohydrate feedstocks such as sugarcane and corn sugar. These glycols are sold as drop-in replacements for fossil-derived MEG and MPG to industrial customers in packaging, textiles, automotive, construction, and personal care applications seeking to reduce the carbon footprint of their finished products.
Is Sustainea a public or private company?
Sustainea is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Sustainea founded?
Sustainea was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sustainea based?
Sustainea is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, in the Latin America region.
How does Sustainea make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Bio-MEG Sales are the primary driver. The others are bio-MPG Sales.
Who are Sustainea's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Genomatica, Indorama Ventures and LanzaTech. Direct peers are Avantium and Origin Materials. Cargill is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Mitsubishi Chemical Group, BASF, Braskem and NatureWorks.
Does Sustainea have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sustainea.
What industry is Sustainea in?
Sustainea's product category is Renewable Chemicals. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAEAAAK, Industrial Alcohols & Glycols (Commodity Grade), with a secondary code of IMAMALAB, Biochemicals & Bio-based Platform Chemicals (cellulose sugars, lignin derivatives, organic acids). Its NAICS code is 32511 and its SIC code is 2860.