Rendered image FDCA Flagship Plant
YXY® Technology
Our YXY® Technology catalytically converts plant-based sugar (fructose) into FDCA, the key building block for a wide range of plant-based chemicals and plastics such as polyethylene furanoate (PEF). PEF is a 100% plant-based, recyclable and degradable plastic, with superior performance properties compared to today’s widely used petroleum-based packaging materials.
Partners
Our most mature platform is our proprietary YXY® Technology. Used to produce FDCA, the main building block for PEF, this technology addresses markets worth over $200 billion.
We have ongoing partnerships to develop, scale and commercialize this technology with multiple players throughout the value chain; from feedstock provides to converters and global consumer brands.
A good example is our collaboration is PEFerence, a consortium of organizations aiming to replace a significant share of fossil-based polyesters with the 100% plant-based PEF. Another example is the Paper Bottle Project (Paboco®), an innovation community joining leading brands who wish to develop a paper bottle. PEF will provide the Paper Bottle with the high barrier properties needed for beverages such as beer and carbonated soft drinks. Avantium also launched a new PEF Textile Community in June 2022, together with Antex (a producer of yarns made from PEF) and four other partners who will use Antex’s yarn to develop PEF fabric applications in different market segments, including industrial fibres, sportswear and fashion clothing. With all members committed to environmentally friendly processes and technologies, we aim to collaborate with and learn from one another to further develop the application of PEF in the textile industry.
Our YXY® Technology is the most advanced technology for PEF production across the sector and we expect the first commercial production of FDCA and PEF to begin in 2024, from our FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl. We have built a strong ecosystem of partners throughout the PEF value chain for our Flagship Plant. To date, Avantium has secured 14 offtake commitments. Contracts were signed with 1. specialty chemical company Toyobo (Japan), 2. specialty polyester film producer Terphane (US), 3. beverage bottling company Refresco (Netherlands), 4. international rigid packaging supplier Resilux (Belgium), 5. masterbatch producer Sukano (Switzerland), 6. leading beer brewing company Carlsberg Group (Denmark), 7. AmBev, the world’s leading brewing company – part of the AB InBev Group (Brazil), 8. world luxury goods leader LVMH Group (France), 9. Monosuisse, a leading producer of a wide variety of synthetic monofilaments for industrial use (Switzerland), 10. Henkel, a global leader of adhesives, sealants and functional coatings (Germany), 11. Origin Materials, leading sustainable materials company (USA), 12. Kvadrat, a leader in design innovation, producing quality contemporary textiles (Denmark) and 2 undisclosed brand owners.
Applications and Markets
Packaging
> $150 billion
PEF has the potential to replace various packaging materials such as PET, glass or aluminium in typical applications like bottles for soft drinks, water, alcoholic beverages and fruit juices. PEF provides improved barrier properties for CO2 and oxygen. The ability to keep out oxygen, for example, results in longer-lasting carbonated drinks and extended shelf life of packaged products.
Textiles
> $40 billion
We are currently working with industry leaders to explore the future potential of PEF fibers in mainly high-value industrial fibers.
Film
> $8 billion
From baby food pouches and medical fluid bags to transparent wrappers for dried food, Avantium Renewable Polymers is constantly exploring the enormous potential of PEF film. Thanks to its superior barrier properties, PEF film has the potential to have a significant impact on the flexible packaging materials market.
From pilot plant to flagship plant
Avantium has successfully demonstrated YXY® Technology at our pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and is currently constructing the world’s first commercial plant for FDCA in 2022, with planned large-scale production of PEF in 2024.
