The Netherlands-headedAvantium N.V., a leading technology provider in renewable chemistry, has announced that it has agreed to partner with Thailand-headed SCG Chemicals Plc (SCGC), a leading integrated chemical player in Asia and an innovator of chemical innovations and solutions. Under this partnership, Avantium and SCGC agreed to further develop carbon dioxide-based polymers and to scale up to a pilot plant with an indicative capacity of 10 tonnes per annum.
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Avantium is a frontrunner in developing and commercializing innovative technologies for the production of chemicals and materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks, i.e. carbon from biomass or carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air.
One of Avantium’s innovative technology platforms, called “Volta Technology”, uses electrochemistry to convert CO2 to high-value products and chemical building blocks including glycolic acid.
By combining glycolic acid with lactic acid, Avantium can produce polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), a carbon-negative polymer with valuable characteristics: it has an excellent barrier against oxygen and moisture, has good mechanical properties, is recyclable, and is both home compostable and marine degradable.
This makes PLGA a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to, for example, non-degradable, fossil-based polymers.
We are delighted that we have entered into this partnership with SCGC, a partner that understands that innovation and bold action is the key to lasting positive impact for a sustainable future. Under this partnership, we can further develop the very promising carbon-negative plastic PLGA and bring this material to the next commercialization phase. Both Avantium and SCGC would also welcome other strategic and complementary partners to participate in this collaboration, said Tom van Aken, CEO at Avantium.
JDA toward demo plant
Since early 2023, Avantium and SCGC have been working together to further evaluate PLGA. To this end, Avantium has produced samples of different PLGAs, which have been evaluated at the Norner facility in Norway, a leading industrial polymer Research and Development centre for the polymer and plastics industry owned by SCG Chemicals.
The two parties have now agreed to take the next step in their cooperation and establish a Joint Development Agreement (JDA).
Under this JDA, Avantium and SCGC intend to further evaluate PLGA in order to subsequently scale up the production of glycolic acid monomer and PLGA polyester in the next two years to a pilot plant.
SCGC is committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2030. To accomplish this, SCGC is not only looking into recycling and reducing plastic use but is also investing in innovative sustainable solutions. Over the past months, SCGC has assessed PLGA samples and we are impressed with the sustainability and performance characteristics of this innovative material. We look forward to working together with Avantium in the years to come, said Dr Suracha Udomsak, Chief Innovation Officer and EVP at SCGC.
