Avantium Renewable Polymers, a subsidiary of technology company Avantium, is opening a plant for furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) at Chemie Park Delfzijl. This is an important building block for various chemicals and plastics such as polyethylene furanoate (PEF). PEF is a degradable form of polyethylene that is an alternative to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This material is known, among other things, from the PET bottles in which soft drinks, for example, are sold. The new plant in Delfzijl will have a production capacity of 5 kilotonnes of FDCA.
Avantium is a company focused on sustainable chemistry. To this end, the company develops technologies based on renewable carbon sources. These provide an alternative to fossil-based chemicals and plastics. Avantium has developed three technologies for this purpose. These are currently in the demonstration phase.
It involves the following technologies:
- YXY plant-to-plastic technology catalytically converts plant sugars into a wide range of chemicals and plastics, including PEF. This technology is being demonstrated at a pilot plant in Geleen.
- Dawn Technology converts non-food-intended biomass into industrial sugars and lignin. With this, Avantium aims to transition the chemical and metal industries to non-fossil feedstocks. The doors of a DAWN pilot biorefinery opened in 2018.
- Ray Technology catalytically converts industrial sugars into vegetable MEG (monoethylene glycol). Avantium is currently scaling up this technology. A demonstration plant in Delfzijl opened its doors in November 2019.
Investment from Regional Consortium
The Regional Consortium - consisting of the province of Groningen, Groningen Seaports, NOM (Agency for Investment and Development in the Northern Netherlands), FondsNieuweDoen, Investeringsfonds Groningen and Groeifonds - is investing €30 million in the new FDCA plant now announced. Avantium Renewable Polymers signed a letter of intent with the Regional Consortium for this purpose. The funding is conditional. The parties see the new plant as an important step in the chemical industry's transition from fossil feedstock to renewable feedstock.
This Regional Consortium was formed to support Avantium both financially and operationally. In the consortium, local institutions join forces. They have submitted a joint proposal to Avantium. The consortium sees the Northern Netherlands as a strong ecosystem in Chemport Europe. This ecosystem creates new and growing companies in circular 'green' industries. With the arrival of Avantium Renewable Polymers at Chemie Park Delfzijl, the consortium aims to further strengthen the green chemistry cluster.
The final funding mix will be determined in the coming months. It is intended to include grants, equity and loans. The Regional Consortium will support Avantium in seeking additional grants and other financial instruments to launch the plant.
Supporting transition to circular economy
"Avantium and Groningen share the ambition to support the transition to a circular economy," said Nienke Homan, deputy of the province of Groningen. "Avantium's plant brings innovation to the region. Also, the Avantium plant creates more than 60 highly skilled jobs and provides significant indirect employment opportunities. Avantium's decision to build the plant in Delfzijl is a testament to the strong green chemistry ecosystem the region offers."
Cas König, CEO of Groningen Seaports: "Avantium fits perfectly into our Chemport Europe ecosystem where we work together on a shared ambition: changing the nature of chemistry. Chemport's goal is for the chemical industry cluster to be completely climate neutral by 2050."
'Excellent location with the right infrastructure'
"Groningen Seaports offers us an excellent location with the right infrastructure. The province of Groningen leads the way in the development of green chemistry and has an exceptional reputation for investing in technologies for a sustainable future," said Avantium CEO Tom van Aken. "We are delighted to have taken another important step in the financing process for Avantium Renewable Polymers for its FDCA flagship plant. Together with the PEFerence grant and Avantium's own investments, we are on track for financing the FDCA plant, which we aim to complete before the end of 2020. We are now focusing on progressing our discussions with potential strategic partners."
The said PEFerence grant is a Horizon 2020 grant of €25 million awarded to the PEFerence consortium. Avantium Renewable Polymers coordinates this consortium. The grant supports the establishment of an innovative value chain for the use of plant-based FDCA and PEF.
Besides FDCA, plant MEG is another raw material crucial for the production of PEF.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
