Avantium Holds First Piling Ceremony for its FDCA Flagship Plant

Avantium, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, has celebrated the first piling ceremony for its FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid ) flagship plant at the Chemie Park Delfzijl site in the Netherlands. This world’s first commercial-scale FDCA plant is set to produce over 110-million lb/yr of FDCA, the key building block for the 100% plant-based, recyclable plastic material PEF (polyethylene furanoate). Scheduled for completion by the end of 2023, it will enable the commercial launch of PEF from 2024 onwards.

Over the years, PEF has attracted the interest and support of many partners – varying from commercial partners, governments, engineering and supply chain partners as well as financial and grant partners. With the support of these partners within the PEF value chain, Avantium is now ready to build and operate this first FDCA Flagship Plant, meeting the growing global demand across a range of end-product markets.

The FDCA Flagship Plant is located near Avantium’s demonstration plant for plantMEG (mono-ethylene glycol) and its pilot biorefinery, producing glucose and lignin from non-food biomass. The Northern Netherlands is furthermore a prime location for green chemistry in the Netherlands, with the ambition to achieve a fully sustainable chemical industry by 2050. Avantium fits perfectly into this ambition, with the FDCA Flagship Plant supporting the transition to a circular economy and helping to shift the chemicals industry away from fossil resources and towards sustainable feedstocks.

Said Avantium CEO Tom van Aiken, “Avantium is proud to be the first company in the world that is constructing a commercial facility for the production of FDCA, the key building block of PEF. I strongly believe that PEF has the potential to become a major polymer to be used across many applications and markets worldwide, helping us on the path to a circular economy. We are pleased with the support of our partners for our FDCA Flagship Plant. Today everyone can see how our plans for a commercial FDCA facility are becoming a reality.”