February 14, 2025 15:23

Packaging giant Amcor, through its U.S. subsidiary Amcor Rigid Packaging USA, is turning its attention to polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a next-generation bioplastic.
To this end, it has signed a joint development agreement with Dutch company Avantium, which has been operating a demonstration plant in Delfzijl for several months. This plant will be pivotal for Avantium's licensing strategy, allowing the company to sell FDCA and PEF directly to customers while also offering technology licenses to industrial partners.

The partnership aims to explore the use of PEF biopolymer, marketed by Avantium under the Releaf brand, for the production of rigid containers for food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and medical applications, and household and personal care products.

In addition, Amcor has committed to a multiyear capacity reservation for PEF from a future industrial-scale facility based on a technology license from Avantium. This agreement guarantees Amcor preferred access to PEF volumes produced by Avantium's future licensee network.

PEF Releaf, similar in many ways to PET and recyclable in the same stream, is produced from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) derived from renewable plant-based materials. It offers excellent barrier properties and high mechanical resistance and can be processed at lower temperatures than PET, leading to energy savings.
Although not biodegradable, the use of renewable raw materials lowers the carbon footprint of both the material and the packaging produced.

“This partnership represents a significant step forward in advancing responsible packaging solutions. It combines Amcor's expertise in innovative packaging with Avantium's renewable and circular polymer Releaf. This partnership enhances our efforts to offer customers innovative, packaging that is better for products, people and the planet” said Terry Patcheak, Amcor’s vice president of research & development and program management excellence. 

Avantium develops and commercialises technologies for the production of materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks. The most advanced is the YXY Technology that catalytically converts plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the key building block for the sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate).

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