Avantium and SCGC aim to advance CO2-based polymers to pilot phase 

Avantium N.V., a renewable chemistry company headquartered in Amsterdam, and SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited, a Thailand-based integrated petrochemical innovations company have announced a new partnership. The companies will collaborate on the further development of  CO2-based polymers with the aim of bringing this to pilot scale.

The partnership will build on Avantium’s innovative Volta Technology platform, which uses electrochemistry to convert CO2 to high-value products and chemical building blocks such as glycolic acid. By combining glycolic acid with lactic acid, Avantium can produce polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), a carbon-negative polyester with an excellent barrier against oxygen and moisture and good mechanical properties. In addition, PLGA is recyclable, home compostable and marine degradable.

Avantium and SCGC have been working together on PLGA since early 2023. Avantium has produced samples of different PLGAs, which were then evaluated at SCGC’s Norner AS facility. This led to the decision to establish a Joint Development Agreement, under which the companies intend to further evaluate PLGA in order to subsequently scale up production of glycolic acid monomer and PLGA polyester in the next two years to a pilot plant with an indicative capacity of 10 tonnes per annum.

 “Over the past months, SCGC has assessed PLGA samples and we are impressed with the sustainability and performance characteristics of this innovative material. We look forward to working together with Avantium in the years to come,”said  Dr Suracha Udomsak, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President at SCGC.

“Under this partnership, we can further develop the very promising carbon-negative plastic PLGA and bring this material to the next commercialization phase. Both Avantium and SCGC would also welcome other strategic and complementary partners to participate in this collaboration”, added Tom van Aken, CEO at Avantium.