Avantium and EPC Engineering & Technologies collaborate to commercialise continuous PEF production technology
Avantium N.V., a leader in renewable and circular polymer materials, has signed a collaboration with EPC Engineering & Technologies GmbH, an international technology provider as well as an engineering and plant construction company. This partnership aims to advance the continuous PEF polyester production technology, targeting plant capacities of 100 kt/a and beyond. The collaboration will combine the expertise of both companies to commercialise continuous polymerisation of PEF (“PEF cPol Technology”). Avantium and EPC will integrate their respective technologies and processes, together with the solid state polymerisation (SSP) of Polymetrix AG. The PEF cPol Technology will be included in Avantium’s YXY Technology license package. EPC will provide engineering, plant construction services and key equipment, including the SSP equipment from Polymetrix, to Avantium’s future licensees.
Avantium has developed its proprietary YXY Technology to produce FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the essential component for the fully plant-based and circular polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF is branded by Avantium as releaf. Avantium is currently in the process of starting up the world’s first commercial FDCA plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. This FDCA Flagship Plant will play a crucial role in Avantium’s commercialisation and licensing strategy. The commercial FDCA plant allows Avantium to sell FDCA and releaf directly to offtake partners, while also offering technology licenses at full scale to industrial partners worldwide. Under such a technology license, industrial partners can produce FDCA and PEF in large-scale production facilities using Avantium’s proprietary YXY Technology.
Avantium and EPC Engineering & Technologies already worked together in 2017, when EPC developed a conceptual design for a 25 kt/a PEF continuous polymerisation plant using melt state polymerisation. This conceptual design served as the starting point for the Joint Development Agreement to further scale the polymerisation technology to 100 kt/a and beyond. Polymetrix will contribute with its continuous solid state polymerisation know-how. With this collaboration, Avantium aims to extend its YXY Technology license package to the full continuous PEF production process including performance guarantees at industrial scale, whether greenfield, brownfield or retrofit plant.