AVANTIUM

Company Overview

Avantium claims that its polyethylene furanoate (PEF) bottle has a better oxygen and carbon dioxide barrier than PET. A sugar-based monomer called furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) can be reacted with MEG to make polyethylene furanoate (PEF), an alternative to PET resin.

Avantium has already reached the yields and process conditions where it can compete on price with petroleum-based terepthalic acid (PTA). The company has been assessing bio-routes to PX/PTA/PET as well as other biobased polymers, focusing on technologies, cost of production and comparisons to traditional routes. Capital expenditures for the initial commercial plants will be high as these are first-of-a-kind plants as opposed to the ‘nth’ plant status of petrochemical facilities. A world-scale conventional PX plant has capacity of 1 million tonnes per year and will likely be four times as large as a bio-PX line.

For FDCA to be cost-competitive, Avantium will need to produce around 300,000 tons per year. The company believes its process has inherent economic benefits over bio-PTA processes. Using chemical catalytic processes and assets provides the necessary speed and efficiency, retaining all the carbon from the feedstock and thus requiring a smaller amount of carbohydrate feedstock per ton of resin as well as being an excellent fit with existing PET production installations.

Financial Highlights (FY 2024)

Company's Business Segments

• R&D Solutions : Advanced Catalyst Testing Technology and Services
• Renewable Chemistries : Ray Technology, plantMEG
• Renewable Polymers : YXY plants-to-plastics Technology