AMSTERDAM, 15 October 2018 – Avantium and BASF are in a dispute about the future of their Synvina joint venture. The companies disagree on the timing for the fulfilment of the criteria to invest in the commercial-scale plant for FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid).

After an internal strategic review, BASF has served a notice to Avantium that if the investment criteria are not fulfilled by 5 December 2018, it is entitled under the joint venture agreement to exit from Synvina. BASF asserts that fulfilment of the investment criteria for the reference plant must be assessed in the fourth quarter of 2018, as originally envisaged in the joint venture agreement.

Avantium disagrees with this interpretation of the joint venture agreement. Avantium is convinced that the 2-3 year extension of the PEF pilot phase announced in January 2018 logically necessitates a postponed final assessment.