Dutch research and technology company Avantium has signed an agreement with The Coca Cola Company to further co-develop Avantium’s patented YXY technology, intended to produce 100% biobased PEF bottles.
Based on the performance of the new PEF material, Avantium believes PEF will become the next-generation biobased polyester, and expects to bring PEF into commercial production in the next three to four years.
On 8 December, Avantium officially opened its pilot plant in the Netherlands, to start up its YXY process at scale. The pilot plant, with a capacity of 40 tons per year, produces PEF material for application development.
Avantium CEO Tom van Aken says: “Our YXY solution for the packaging industry creates a new biobased plastic with exceptional functional properties at a competitive price.
“We believe it is economically viable and has a significantly reduced environmental footprint.
“We have already made bottles with exceptional barrier and thermal properties and our production process fits well with existing supply chains.”
The company says current process economic estimates indicate that PEF will be a viable alternative to petroleum-based PET.
PEF can be derived from any biomass feedstock containing carbohydrates, such as sugarcane, agricultural residues, plants and grains.
Using YXY as a fast and efficient chemical-catalytic technology, these carbohydrates can be converted into a wide variety of bioplastics.
“PEF is 100% biobased and when commercialized will be fully recyclable,” says Van Aken.
“We are very excited about the co-development phase we are entering with The Coca-Cola Company to continue the development of PEF and make this new material ready for mass production and recycling.”
The collaboration with The Coca-Cola Company is key to secure a smooth transition into the mass production phase of PEF bottles. Avantium is also actively discussing partnerships with other leading brand owners to develop PEF bottles, fibres and film.
In the longer term Avantium will license its YXY technology to enable large scale, worldwide production and use of its biobased plastic materials.
Avantium – a leading technology company specialized in the area of advanced high-throughput R&D – has developed YXY (pronounced as icksy), a family of green building blocks for making materials and fuels that can compete on both price and performance with oil based alternatives, with a “superior environmental footprint”.
YXY is a patented technology that converts biomass into Furanics building blocks, such as FDCA (2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid). FDCA is the monomer that can be used for the production of the bio-based polyester PEF (Poly-ethylene-furanoate).
YXY can be implemented in existing chemical production assets.
Avantium is collaborating with leading companies in the industry to develop and produce green materials and fuels based on YXY building blocks.
