Replacing PET? Avantium Completes £84.8 Million Equity Financing, Plant-Based PEF Commercialization Imminent

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Avantium (Netherlands)

Avantium is a leading commercial-grade company pioneering global PEF technology and collaborating with Nestlé, Coca-Cola, PANGAIA, Auping, and others to advance commercialization. Avantium focuses on renewable and circular polymer materials, developing and commercializing innovative technologies for material production based on sustainable carbon sources, i.e., carbon from biomass or carbon from air (CO2). The most advanced technology is the YXY technology, which catalytically transforms plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), a key component of sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF is known under the brand name Releaf, which is Avantium's EU-registered trademark. Avantium has successfully demonstrated the YXY technology at its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and is launching the world's first FDCA commercial plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. Avantium collaborates with like-minded companies worldwide to develop revolutionary renewable chemical solutions from invention to commercial scale.

AVABiochem (Switzerland)

Since 2014, AVABiochem, headquartered in Switzerland, has been producing high-purity 5-HMF for research purposes and the specialty chemicals market, as well as technical-grade 5-HMF for bulk chemical applications. Their breakthrough hydrothermal processing technology (HTP) has been patented and piloted, allowing for the conversion of C-6 sugars into the renewable platform chemical 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in aqueous solution and various purity crystals. Previously, AVABiochem planned to launch its first commercial production plant for 5-HMF and FDCA by 2020. The initial phase was planned for 30,000 tons per year, with an increase to 120,000 tons per year when fully operational. In 2021, AVA collaborated with the renowned engineering and construction company Sulzer to expand. The company's products include 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), furandicarboxylic acid methyl ester (FDME), diformylfuran (DFF), and polyethylene furanoate (PEF).

Zhongke Guosheng (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd.

Zhongke Guosheng (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. was established in July 2021. The core team members come from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and have years of industrial experience and foundation in the fields of biomass catalytic conversion and furan-based material design and development. According to patents, the company's technical route is fructose - HMF - FDCA, and it was the first in the industry to adopt a continuous tubular reactor. Zhongke Guosheng has a pilot production line in Lishui, Zhejiang, capable of producing 600 tons of HMF and 400 tons of FDCA annually. The company began constructing a production base covering approximately 54 acres in Taixing, Jiangsu, in 2022. Zhongke Guosheng has received financing from institutions such as Matrix Partners China and Junsheng Investment.

Hefei Life Biological Technology Co., Ltd.

The company was founded in 2014 by a team from the University of Science and Technology of China, with its technology sourced from the Key Laboratory of Biomass Clean Energy in Anhui Province at the university. The project leader is a doctoral supervisor at USTC, and the company has applied for more than ten invention patents. Since its establishment, the company has set up R&D centers in the Hefei High-tech Zone and Jingde County, Xuancheng City, with its core business focusing on the production and sales of pharmaceutical intermediates and HMF additives. The technological process employs traditional batch reactors, and chemical processing plants have been established in Tongling and Bengbu. Reports indicate that the company's HMF production line with a capacity of thousands of tons was completed in September 2023. The company has received investments from Guanzi Venture Capital, Zhonglan Venture Capital, Huagai Capital, and others.

⑤ Jiangsu Seric New Material Technology Co., Ltd.

Jiangsu Celluranics New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (Celluranics) was founded by a team with a background from the University of Science and Technology of China, who previously worked at BP in the United States. They returned to China to start a business in 2020 and have R&D bases in Tai Xing, Jiangsu, and Chicago. Patents indicate that the company's technology route is the dehydration synthesis of FDCA from glucaric acid. They have received joint investments from Sequoia Capital and Green Capital.

Elephant Life Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.

Xiangsheng Technology was incubated at the Jiangbei Innovation Center of the National Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Engineering in Jiangbei New District, where it signed a project for incubation. This project brings together resources from teams at the University of Cambridge, Brown University, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, and others, aiming to achieve low-cost conversion from cellulose to fructose to FDCA through self-developed special micro-reactor equipment and new catalysts. Recently, business registration information shows that Xiangsheng Technology has established a holding entity in Shenzhen. Recently, Xiangsheng Technology completed two rounds of angel+ financing totaling several tens of millions of yuan.

Future Trends

With the tightening of global plastic bans (such as the EU's recyclable packaging standards) and the growing consumer demand for eco-friendly products, the PEF fiber market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 24%, potentially reaching a market size of $7 billion by 2030. Technological innovations (such as raw material diversification and process optimization) and industry chain collaboration (like the Hengyi-Tongkun-Tonghui cooperation model) will be key to overcoming cost bottlenecks and accelerating the application of PEF fibers.