In the Netherlands, Avantium N.V., a pioneer in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced that Sukano AG, a global specialist in additive and colour masterbatches for polyesters, biopolymers, and specialty resins, has signed a capacity reservation agreement for Avantium’s polyethylene furanoate (PEF), marketed as "releaf".
Headquartered in Switzerland with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Malaysia, and Hungary, family-held Sukano AG is a global specialist in the development and production of additives and color masterbatches and compounds for polyesters, biopolymers, high-temperature polymers, and specialty resins that go into packaging, consumer durables, building and construction, healthcare, and fibers.
Masterbatches are specialty additives and colour concentrates that improve plastics performance during manufacturing and amplify their properties in multiple end-use applications.
The agreement builds on the collaboration and conditional offtake agreement the two companies entered into in 2022 to develop masterbatches for PEF and marks a further step toward the commercial adoption of releaf across a broad range of packaging, consumer goods and specialty applications.
Under the agreement, Sukano secures access to releaf production volumes from future industrial-scale facilities to be built and operated by Avantium’s potential licensing partners.
We are pleased that Sukano is extending its commitment to releaf through this capacity reservation agreement. Sukano has been a decisive partner in developing masterbatches for PEF, helping to unlock its full potential across industrial film, fiber, and bottles applications, and supporting its successful scale-up on industrial production lines. This agreement demonstrates growing confidence in releaf and supports the continued build-out of the future value chain for our renewable and circular polymer, said Bineke Posthumus, Commercial Director at Avantium.
Building on the companies’ collaboration since 2022 on masterbatch solutions for PEF, the agreement reflects Sukano’s confidence in releaf as a high-performance, plant-based, and recyclable polymer.
The capacity reservation agreement represents the next step in the partnership and provides a pathway toward future commercial-scale deployment.
Our collaboration with Avantium over the past several years has demonstrated the exciting potential of PEF, marketed as releaf. By securing future production volumes through this capacity reservation agreement, we are reinforcing our commitment to providing customers with innovative and more sustainable polyester materials. We believe releaf can play an important role in enabling the next generation of high-performance packaging and specialty applications, said Alessandra Funcia, Head of Sales & Marketing at Sukano.
