The planned construction of Avantium’s FDCA bioplastics facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, has advanced another step forward. Following on from previous work completed by industrial engineering company Worley on the concept development and front-end engineering design of the facility, the company will now also proceed with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services required to build the new plant.
Plant-based furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a key building block for many chemicals and plastics, such as polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a fully recyclable plastic. Avantium’s new facility will be the world’s first to produce FDCA on a commercial scale. The lagship plant which will be the commercial proof for future larger-scale developments, will have an annual capacity of five kilotonnes per year.
In January 2021, Worley announced a strategic partnership with Avantium, acquiring a shareholding in Avantium in return for a €10 million equity investment with a risk-sharing mechanism over the EPC phase of the FDCA plant.
Following the recent positive final investment decision, Worley signed a technology cooperation agreement with Avantium and will now deliver EPC services to develop the facility.
The work will be carried out from Worley’s offices in the Netherlands and Belgium, with support from their Global Integrated Delivery (GID) team in India.