Avantium and Mitsui tie up to market biobased chemicals in Asia

Avantium, a Dutch technology company signed an agreement with Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co Ltd, to commercialise 100% biobased chemicals Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) and carbohydrate-based polymer (PEF) in Asia. As part of this agreement, Mitsui has been granted a right to purchase a sizable volume of FDCA from the first commercial FDCA plant to be constructed by Avantium.

Currently, Avantium is in the preparation stage of the construction of the first FDCA production plant and plans to share further details on the capacity, location and time lines for the construction in Q1 2016.

Demonstrating the potential for PEF and FDCA in the Asian market, Avantium has reserved a significant portion of the capacity from this first FDCA plant for Mitsui.

Avantium and Mitsui have entered into a development and roll out agreement for PEF thin films in Asia and PEF bottles in Japan. Given its barrier performance, Avantium research demonstrates PEF can bring significant benefits as packaging material for oxygen sensitive goods such as food, beer and health care products. Both companies are also partnering to launch and grow the market for other FDCA- based applications such as co-polyesters.

Tom van Aken, CEO of Avantium, commented that the partnership can enable Avantium to tap on the growth opportunities in the Asian market, one of the fastest growing markets for packaging materials. Mitsui said that the collaboration with Avantium is an extension of its strong bio-based chemicals portfolio, being that the FDCA and PEF are bio-based building blocks with a high market potential.