Avantium and Logoplaste secure capacity deal to scale plant-based polymer Releaf

Avantium has signed a capacity reservation agreement with Logoplaste Consultores Técnicos to scale its plant-based, recyclable polymer, Releaf. 

In the agreement, Logoplaste reserves future volumes of Releaf from factories incorporating Avantium’s YXY technology for Releaf production. In doing so, Avantium supports Logoplaste’s pipeline for packaging incorporating Releaf. 

The Portugal-based packaging company manufactures bottles for beverages, food, pharma, home care, and personal care.

Bineke Posthumus, director of business development at Avantium, says: “We are excited to deepen our collaboration with Logoplaste as a strategic partner. The capacity reservation agreement reflects the growing momentum behind Releaf as a key material for next-generation, high-performance packaging.” 

Furthermore, Avantium anticipates increasing demand for Releaf after “successful completion of production validation.”

Alongside Avantium, Logoplaste is part of the Bottle Collective, an industry consortium that researches fiber-based bottles and includes brands such as Diageo, Opella (formerly Sanofi), and Haleon.

Sustainable packaging commitment

Logoplaste offers expertise in injection and blow molding, as well as advanced barrier technologies.

Paulo Correia, chief technology officer at Logoplaste, says: “This agreement is a testament to our shared commitment to driving innovation in sustainable packaging. By securing future volumes of Avantium’s Releaf, we are able to accelerate the development of advanced packaging solutions with outstanding barrier properties, supporting our customers’ ambitions for circularity and performance across a wide range of applications.”

Avantium has increasingly been scaling the use of Releaf and other PET products. Recently, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Tereos, a sugar, starch, alcohol, and bioethanol production company, and Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) to accelerate the industrial-scale production of Releaf.

In February, Avantium partnered with Amcor to explore the use of Releaf in the packaging giant’s rigid containers for various product applications, including in F&B, pharmaceuticals, home, and personal care.

In addition, Avantium’s PET/PEF multilayer bottle was announced as fully compatible with PET recycling streams following a RecyClass evaluation, the European non-profit initiative dedicated to advancing plastics circularity.

In an interview with Packaging Insights, Dr. Gert-Jan Gruter, chief technology officer at Avantium, told us that the shift to renewable alternatives in the plastics industry is “sluggish” due to research and investment being directed into less sustainable polymers. He also noted bioplastics research inefficiencies due to lengthy processes and high costs.