Avantium: Biofuels Digest’s 2015 5-Minute Guide

Company description:

The YXY technology is a 2-step chemical, catalytic process to convert sugars to Furan-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a biobased alternative to terephthalic acid (TA). Avantium focuses its efforts on using FDCA to produce the polyester, Polyethylene-furanoate (PEF), a 100% biobased material that could replace Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) in large markets such as bottles, fiber and film.

Together with its partners The Coca-Cola Company, Danone and ALPLA the company aims “to make PEF bottles a commercial success. Our proprietary YXY process to make PEF has been proven at pilot plant scale as we are now moving to commercial deployment. Furthermore, PEF has a huge opportunity in materials as fibers, films and other applications. Recently our partners made a new investment in Avantium, which brings us closer to the first commercial scale plant.”

Rankings

30 Hottest Companies in Biobased Chemicals & Materials: #12, 2013/14

Biofuels Digest Awards

2012 Best Project (pilot) Award: Gevo, Virent, Avantium — renewable paraxylene

The Situation

Last June, Avantium announced that it had closed a financing round of $50 million from a consortium of iconic strategic players. This unique consortium consists of Swire Pacific, The Coca-Cola Company, DANONE, ALPLA, and existing shareholders. Follow on investments were made by existing shareholders Sofinnova Partners, Capricorn Venture Partners, ING Corporate Investments, Aescap Venture, Navitas Capital, Aster Capital and De Hoge Dennen Capital.

Proceeds will be used to complete the industrial validation of PEF and finalize the engineering & design of the first commercial scale plant. As part of its strategy to use responsibly sourced plant based materials for PEF production, Avantium will validate the use of 2nd generation feedstock.

Avantium had recently opened its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, with the capacity of producing 40 tons of PEF for application development. The collaborations with Danone and The Coca-Cola Company are key to secure a smooth transition into the mass production phase of PEF bottles. Avantium is in active discussion with other leading brand owners to develop PEF bottles, fibers and film. In the longer term Avantium will license its YXY technology to enable large scale, world-wide production and use of its bio-sourced plastic materials.

The technology

PEF is a novel molecule that can replace petroleum based polyesters such as PET. According to Avantium, PEF has numerous superior properties when compared with PET, including lower permeability of oxygen, carbon-dioxide and water and an enhanced ability to withstand heat. The company contends that it can replace PET in plastic bottling, carpets, apparel, carpets, home furnishing, disposables, fabrics, diapers, filters, flexible packing, trays or cups, and industrial fibers.

The YXY technology is a 2-step chemical, catalytic process to convert sugars to Furan-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a biobased alternative to terephthalic acid (TA). Avantium focuses its efforts on using FDCA to produce the polyester, Polyethylene-furanoate (PEF), a 100% biobased material that could replace Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) in large markets such as bottles, fiber and film.

Major Investors:

Sofinnova (Paris), Capricorn (Belgium), Aescap (Netherlands), ING (Netherlands) en Aster (Paris).

Business Model:

Avantium is the exclusive owner of its propriety YXY technology to produce chemical building blocks for making green materials.

Avantium plans to further develop and commercialize its YXY technology in collaboration with a range of partners to create a Furanics supply chain. Avantium’s strategy is to build and operate the first commercial production plant to enable the commercial launch of PEF bottles by its development partners including The Coca-Cola Company and Danone. Subsequent to the demonstration of its YXY technology at commercial scale, Avantium intends to sell licenses to chemical and polymer companies to monetize this proprietary technology platform.

Past Milestones 2011-2014:

• Construction pilot plant at Chemelot in Geleen, The Netherlands
• Successful start-up of the pilot plant
• Signing of Joint Development Partnerships with The Coca Cola Company and Danone for the development of 100% biobased PEF bottles
• Joint development agreements with Solvay and Rhodia for the development of FDCA based polyamides
• In 2012, Avantium announced a Joint Development Agreement for the development of PEF bottles with Danone Research. Based on the YXY technology, the Avantium and Danone Research joint objective is to contribute to the emergence of a new renewable material generation which will not be in direct competition with food.
• In June 2013, Avantium and ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner, a leading plastic converters, today announced their joint development agreement for the development of PEF bottles. ALPLA is the third company to collaborate with Avantium on PEF, a bioplastic based on Avantium’s proprietary YXY technology. ALPLA will develop PEF bottles for personal care/ home care applications, such as cosmetics and detergents and for food applications such as sauces, dressings, baby foods and edible oils. Avantium is currently planning a 50,000 ton commercial plant, which is projected to be operational in 2016 to enable the full commercial launch of the first PEF bottles to consumers.

In 2014, Avantium announced that it had closed a financing round of $50 million from a consortium of iconic strategic players. This unique consortium consists of Swire Pacific, The Coca-Cola Company, DANONE, ALPLA, and existing shareholders. Follow on investments were made by existing shareholders Sofinnova Partners, Capricorn Venture Partners, ING Corporate Investments, Aescap Venture, Navitas Capital, Aster Capital and De Hoge Dennen Capital.

Future Milestone Goals 2015-17:

• Continuing design, engineering and construction of the 1^st Commercial plant
• Mechanically complete and first production of the 1^st Commercial plant

Competitive Edge:

The current process yield of Avantium’s YXY technology will allow competing on basis of price and performance with petroleum-based chemicals

Distribution, Research, Marketing or Production Partnerships or Alliances:

Avantium has currently Joint Application Development Agreements in place with TCCC and Danone for the development of 100% biobased PEF bottles and with Solvay and Rhodia for the development of FDCA based polyamides.  Additionally several partnership discussions are ongoing which provides access to a diverse of sustainable downstream demand for the YXY Technology, secures feedstock supply and supports the construction of the next large industrial scale plants.