Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced the successful start-up of the sugar dehydration (SDH) unit and all auxiliary systems and utilities at its FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. This achievement marks a key technical achievement in the phased commissioning and start-up of the world’s first commercial facility dedicated to the production of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a key building block for the 100 percent plant-based and recyclable polymer polyethylene furanoate (PEF), branded as "releaf".
The FDCA Flagship Plant, located at Chemie Park Delfzijl, is the first of its kind and is designed to produce up to 5,000 tonnes of FDCA per year.
Construction was completed in October 2024, and Avantium has been gradually commissioning and starting up different parts of the facility.
Key process component
The SDH unit is the largest part of the plant and plays a crucial role by converting plant sugars into methoxymethyl furfural (MMF), an important intermediate in the FDCA production process.
MMF is now successfully being produced in the SDH unit. The successful start-up of the SDH follows the FDCA Flagship Plant’s utility and auxiliary systems, such as the tank farm and steam systems, which were put into operation earlier this year.
With the SDH unit now operational, the next steps include the finalization of commissioning and sequential start-up of the remaining units that handle oxidation and purification.
Avantium has identified quality issues in the piping and certain electrical components. These will be repaired or replaced to ensure a safe and reliable start-up of the remaining units.
The FDCA produced at the FDCA Flagship Plant will be polymerized by tolling partner Selenis, using biobased mono-ethylene glycol (MEG), to create PEF.
This milestone is a tremendous accomplishment for the team and a major step forward on our path to commercializing FDCA and PEF, said Bram Hoffer, Chief Operations Officer at Avantium.
Commercial deliveries in 2026
Following performance testing and regulatory validation for food contact applications, Avantium expects to begin commercial sales under existing offtake agreements in the first quarter of 2026, with plans to reach full production capacity within 24 months.
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together, including our unwavering commitment to safety as the start-up process continues. Thie successful start-up is a major demonstration of the scalability of our YXY technology, said Jeroen Vogelzang, Flagship Plant Manager.
