Green news: TotalEnergies becomes sole owner of Grandpuits recycling plant; Avantium/Sojitz Pla-Net to market bio-PEF in Japan

As part of the restructuring of Plastic Energy's shareholding, energy firm TotalEnergies has acquired from the new shareholder Plastic Energy's 35% interest in the Grandpuits advanced recycling plant, in which TotalEnergies already held a 65% interest. The plant is now wholly owned by TotalEnergies.

The Grandpuits advanced plastics recycling plant, located in Seine-et-Marne, started production in March 2026 and has a capacity to process 15,000 tonnes/year of plastic waste.

The Grandpuits plant transforms hard-to-recycle plastic waste from French households, including waste collected in yellow recycling bins, which is currently sent to landfill or incineration, into a synthetic oil through a pyrolysis process.

This process involves heating the waste to high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment. It makes it possible to recycle waste that cannot be recycled mechanically and to produce circular petrochemical feedstock as a substitute for fossil feedstocks.

The synthetic oil contributes to producing recycled plastics of the same quality as virgin plastics, compatible with the strictest requirements, including food contact and medical applications. In 2023, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with two French partners, Citeo and Paprec, to secure the plant's long-term supply of plastic waste.

In other news, Dutch materials firm Avantium NV has announced a partnership with Japan’s Sojitz Pla-Net Corporation to drive the adoption of Avantium's plant-based materials FDCA and PEF (marketed under the releaf brand), in the Japanese market. The partnership combines Avantium’s technology with Sojitz Pla-Net’s commercial network and expertise in plastics, packaging materials and sustainable solutions.

As one of Japan’s leading plastics trading companies and part of the Sojitz Group, Sojitz Pla-Net will support market development and customer engagement for releaf across Japan, while also exploring opportunities to jointly develop business with customers and partners in international markets.

FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) is a plant-based building block for the production of PEF (polyethylene furanoate), Avantium’s flagship polymer marketed under the releaf brand. PEF is plant-based, recyclable and offers superior barrier properties compared with conventional plastics, making it an attractive material for packaging, textiles, consumer goods and other high-performance applications.

Japan is a key market for sustainable materials, driven by increasing demand for renewable and circular packaging solutions. Through this partnership, Avantium and Sojitz Pla-Net aim to accelerate awareness and adoption of releaf among Japanese brand owners, converters, packaging producers and other value chain partners.

Yuzhong Chen, Business Development Manager Asia at Avantium, commented: "Japan has long been an important market for Avantium, with strong interest in sustainable, high-performance materials. We are pleased to partner with Sojitz Pla-Net, whose extensive market knowledge, customer relationships and sustainability focus make them an ideal partner to further expand opportunities for FDCA and PEF. While our initial focus is on Japan, we also look forward to exploring broader opportunities together through the international Sojitz network."

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