The Netherlands-headed Avantium N.V., a leader in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced that it has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with Tereos, a global leader in sugar, starch, alcohol, and bioethanol production, and with LVMH Gaïa, the scientific and environmental R&D division of LVMH Group – Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a world leader in luxury.
Together, the parties will establish a strategic collaboration to accelerate the industrial-scale production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF), Avantium’s 100 percent renewable and circular performance polymer known under the brand name “releaf”.
Made from plant-based feedstocks, releaf can be applied across food and beverage packaging, cosmetics packaging, fashion, and industrial fibers.
This alliance unites Avantium as the inventor of releaf with trailblazers Tereos and LVMH to scale bio-based plastics from plant-based resources, contributing to the transition away from fossil-based plastics.
Build and operate an industrial-scale facility
The parties aim to form a European consortium, with plans to expand by including additional strategic partners over time.
The consortium intends to build and operate the first industrial-scale facility in Europe based on Avantium’s proprietary YXY Technology, converting plant-based feedstock into furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and FDCA-based polymers, such as releaf.
The project takes advantage of Tereos’ plant-based feedstock and Avantium’s proprietary YXY Technology, while demand will be driven by partners, including LVMH Gaïa.
This partnership with LVMH and Tereos is an exciting step in our journey to bring releaf to market at scale. It builds on our successful existing collaboration and reflects a shared commitment to accelerating the transition to renewable materials. By uniting expertise across luxury, agriculture, and green chemistry, we are not only advancing circular innovation but also laying the groundwork for a European industrial ecosystem that supports sustainable packaging and textile solutions, said Tom van Aken, CEO of Avantium.
Draws on PEFerence collaboration
This strategic initiative builds on the long-standing collaboration between Avantium, Tereos, and LVMH Gaïa within the EU-supported PEFerence consortium, which accelerates the shift from fossil-based to plant-based polyesters.
It aligns with Tereos’ ambition to develop green chemistry future value chains and Avantium’s goal to license its YXY Technology globally.
We are proud to strengthen our collaboration with LVMH and Avantium. Tereos has made strong commitments for regenerative agriculture and decarbonization from the field to finished products, which are reflected in our Cultivate Net Zero customer offer. Today, our partnership marks a new step in the development of sustainable solutions for green chemistry markets, commented Olivier Leducq, CEO of Tereos.
It also supports the objectives of LVMH’s LIFE 360 environmental program, which includes the ambition to progressively eliminate fossil-based plastics from packaging. This initiative is a concrete step in that direction.
LVMH Gaïa was created to bring science and innovation at the service of sustainability across the LVMH Group. Our partnership with Avantium has already demonstrated the potential of renewable materials in luxury packaging. With this new step, we reinforce our LIFE 360 commitments, in particular our ambition to eliminate fossil-based plastics from packaging, while maintaining the highest standards of performance and aesthetics, said Claude Martinez, President and CEO of LVMH Gaïa.
