Veolia Delays Final Investment Decision on Green Polyolefin Project

AP Moller Holding's subsidiary, Veolia, announced that it has postponed the Final Investment Decision (FID) for its planned €1.5 billion green polyolefin project in Antwerp, Belgium, to mid-2026.

The project has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons and will use renewable methanol from China as the raw material for the Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) plant. The green ethylene and propylene produced by this MTO plant will be supplied to downstream polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) units. However, the project is still planned to be put into operation in 2029.

According to a statement released by Vionnio in April this year, the final investment decision for the project was originally planned to be made by the end of 2025. The statement also noted that the price premium for the fossil-free PE and PP produced is expected to be 2 to 3 times that of traditional PE and PP. Although the petrochemical market is currently in a downturn and the short-term outlook is not optimistic, Vionnio's vision of building a global business has not changed. After the final investment decision for the first project is made, the company's plan is to "proceed with the construction of one to two additional plants, truly developing it into a global business." The second plant is highly likely to be located in Europe as well.

In September this year, Vionnio selected ECI Group's high-pressure technology for a planned low-density polyethylene plant with an annual capacity of 110,000 tons at its Antwerp complex. In August, the company announced the selection of Lummus Technology's Novolen process technology for a polypropylene plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons within the complex. In January, Vionnio had already reached an agreement to adopt Honeywell International's Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) technology for the project.