Dow Inc. DOW and privately-held New Energy Blue said Thursday they reached a long-term supply agreement which Dow describes as the first in North America to generate plastic source materials from corn stover, which comes from cornstalks and leaves. Financial terms were not disclosed. Dow said the deal marks its first agreement in North America to use agriculture residues for plastic production. New Energy Blue will create renewable agricultural residues and Dow plans to purchase bio-based ethylene for use in recyclable applications across transportation, footwear, and packaging. Dow said it’ll support the design of New Energy Freedom, a new facility in Mason City, Iowa, that’s projected to process corn stover and produce “commercial quantities of second-generation ethanol and clean lignin,” the companies said. About half of the ethanol will be turned into bio-based ethylene feedstock for Dow products. Dow stock is up 1.9% in 2023, compared to a 19.3% increase by the S&P 500 SPX.

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