UBE plans to build DMC and EMC factories in the United States

UBE Corp. announced that the company's board of directors has decided to build dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) plants in the United States. The company also decided to increase capital in UBE C1 Chemicals America, Inc. (UCCA), a DMC/EMC manufacturing and marketing company indirectly wholly owned by UBE.

UBE has been working on basic designs aimed at producing DMC and EMC for the US market in Louisiana. UBE has now decided to build a factory with an annual output of 100,000 tons of DMC and 40,000 tons of EMC. The total investment in the project is approximately US$500 million, and is scheduled to be completed in July 2026 and begin operations in November 2026.

DMC and EMC are key components of lithium-ion battery electrolyte solvents. DMC is also used as a developer in semiconductor manufacturing processes. The demand for DMC and EMC in the United States is expected to grow with the popularity of electric vehicles and the advancement of digitalization. However, the United States currently relies entirely on imports for the supply of DMC and EMC. By building the plant, UBE plans to provide stable supply in the United States.

UBE also plans to expand downstream into environmentally friendly products in the C1 chemical chain in the future, such as polycarbonate diols (PCD) and water-based polyurethane dispersions (PUD). UBE's DMC is produced using the company's proprietary vapor-phase nitrite process, which is characterized by lower energy, higher quality and fewer by-products than ethylene production methods. In the United States, URE will utilize cheap natural gas as feedstock to improve cost competitiveness while reducing CO2 emissions compared to existing plants. In this way, UBE will consolidate its position as a leading company.