Avantium N.V., a leading technology company in renewable chemistry, and Origin Materials, Inc., a world's leading carbon negative materials company based in the USA, announced a partnership to accelerate the mass production of FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) and PEF (polyethylene furanoate) for use in advanced chemicals and plastics.

The partnership aims to bring the technology platforms of both companies together in order to produce FDCA from sustainable wood residues on an industrial scale.

FDCA is the key building block for the biopolymer PEF, a 100% plant-based, fully recyclable plastic material, with high functionality and significantly reduced carbon footprint when compared to conventional plastics. PEF can be used in a wide range of applications such as bottles, packaging, films, fibers and textiles, which represent major end-markets.

Avantium’s pilot plant which focuses on the YXY technology.

This new partnership brings together Avantium’s proprietary YXY Technology that converts plantbased sugars into FDCA, with Origin’s patented technology platform which turns carbon found in sustainable wood residues into useful building-block chemicals such as CMF (chloromethylfurfural).

Bridging these two complementary technologies creates a route that can convert sustainable wood residues via CMF into FDCA.

Avantium is currently constructing the world's first commercial-scale FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Avantium has signed offtake agreements for the supply of FDCA and PEF to major brand names and industry leaders for a range of applications, including Carlsberg, LVMH and AmBev.

Origin Materials has mechanically completed its first commercial manufacturing plant Origin 1 in Canada. This plant is anticipated to produce materials including CMF from sustainable wood residues. For Origin 1 and future plants, Origin has signed numerous capacity reservations and offtake agreements with well-known brand owners.