Amcor to receive preferential access to Avantium’s Releaf plant-based polymer
Amcor reveals it has partnered with Avantium, a Dutch renewable polymer company, to explore the use of a plant-based polymer polyethylene furanoate (PEF), branded by Avantium as Releaf. The polymer will be utilized in Amcor’s rigid containers for a variety of product applications, including in F&B, pharmaceuticals, home, and personal care.
The two companies agreed to a multi-year capacity reservation for Releaf from a future industrial-scale facility, based on a technology license from Avantium. This guarantees Amcor’s preferred access to Avantium’s PEF in the future.
“This partnership between Amcor and Avantium represents a significant step forward in advancing responsible packaging solutions,” says Terry Patcheak, Amcor’s vice president of R&D and program management excellence.
“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.”
Bineke Posthumus, commercial director of Avantium Renewable Polymers, adds: “This collaboration with Amcor underscores the increasing demand for Releaf in sustainable packaging solutions and supports our strategy for licensing our furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) technology.”
“We are excited to work with Amcor to bring Releaf to the market, providing consumers with high-performance, eco-friendly packaging solutions.”
With its lower carbon footprint, Releaf will support Amcor’s net-zero 2050 ambitions.
Releaf production technology
Avantium’s proprietary process technology to produce Releaf, inovlolves the development of FDCA — the key building block for PEF. The company plans to start the world’s first commercial FDCA plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands.
The FDCA Flagship Plant is an important aspect of Avantium’s licensing strategy, as it would allow it to sell FDCA and PEF directly to customers while also offering technology licenses to industrial partners.
The company states that ensuring sufficient commercial demand will be crucial for future licensing partners. “The capacity reservation agreement with Amcor demonstrates Avantium’s ability to meet this demand effectively.”
Releaf is a fully plant-based, “high-performance” polymer that can be recycled in existing PET recycling streams. This is exemplified by its inclusion in the Critical Guidance Protocol from the Association of Plastic Recyclers, which measures and assesses recyclability in plastic packaging design.
Avantium also celebrates Releaf’s barrier properties, which can extend the shelf life of F&B and its higher mechanical strength that reduces material usage.
The polymer’s lower processing temperature can cut energy consumption compared to traditional fossil-based plastics.
