Renewable chemicals firm Avantium is teaming up with packaging major Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner to develop bottles made from polyethylene furanoate, a bio-based alternative to PET.
The joint development agreement will help to accelerate the commercial roll out and industrialization of PEF, according to a news release.
Alpla will develop PEF bottles for personal and home care applications like cosmetics and detergents. The blow molder will also make bottles for food applications like sauces, dressings, baby foods and edible oils.
The two companies will also work on developing PEF bottles for beer and alcoholic beverages.
This is Avantium's third notable partnership; the Amsterdam-based firm is also collaborating with the Coca-Cola and Groupe Danone on producing bio-based bottles, including Coke's iconic PlantBottle.
The goal of these collaborations is to bring 100% bio-based PEF bottles to market by 2016, according to the release.
Avantium is currently supply its partners with PEF produced at its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands. The firm is planning to open a 50,000 ton commercial plant in 2016 to enable a full commercial launch and bring PEF bottles to consumers.
PEF is a 100% bio-based and recyclable polyester, developed to replace conventional materials like PET. The material is made with Avantium's YXY technology – a catalytic technology that converts carbohydrates from plants into chemical building blocks for bioplastics, including a bio-based alternative to terephthalic acid.
According to Avantium, PEF offers a significant carbon footprint reduction as well as superior barrier and light-weighting properties compared to PET.
Alpla, based in Hard, Austria, produces bottles, performs and caps at more than 149 plants in 39 different countries.