23 April 2021

Cosun Beet Company joins forces with Avantium

Cosun Beet Company and Avantium N.V. have the ambition to jointly construct and operate the first commercial plant for the production of plant-based glycols using Avantium’s Ray Technology™. Cosun Beet Company and Avantium plan to form the joint venture in 2021 with the aim to make an investment decision for the foreseen commercial plant in the first half of 2023 and commercial operations commencing in 2025. The joint venture is envisioned to be a world class producer of plant-based glycols to actively contribute to a fossil-free future.
 

Avantium’s Ray Technology™ converts sugars into glycols: plantMEG™ (mono-ethylene glycol) and plantMPG™ (mono-propylene glycol). MEG is a blockbuster commodity intermediate and plantMEG™ is a fully recyclable plant-based product used in broad applications like packaging, polyester textiles, and antifreeze. PlantMPG™ is non-toxic, plant-based and used for airplane deicing and in unsaturated polyester resins used in modern windmill blades and as heat transfer fluid in solar panels.

Paul Mesters, Cosun Beet Company CEO, comments: “We have the ambition to be the greenest, most innovative, and most successful sugar beet processor in the world. The collaboration with Avantium is an exciting example of our aim to maximise the valorisation of sugar beets while actively contributing to a fossil-free future. We look forward to growing and deepening our partnership with Avantium in the coming years.”

Avantium CEO Tom van Aken comments: “The contemplated joint venture with Cosun Beet Company is a major development in the commercialisation of our breakthrough Ray Technology™. We aim to create value for all our stakeholders by bringing this game-changing technology to produce plant-based glycols to market along with our FDCA and PEF products. With Cosun Beet Company, we plan to construct the world’s first RAY sugars-to-glycols plant and enable the commercial launch of plant-based glycols in broad applications to help fulfill Avantium’s vision for a fossil-free world. Our partnership with Cosun Beet Company combines our complementary competencies and shared ambition to create solutions for a sustainable future.”

Contact

Olaf van Baal, Chief Innovation Officer at Cosun Beet Company

olaf.van.baal@cosunbeetcompany.com

Eelco Blum, Vice President, Business Development - Renewable Chemistries at Avantium

eelco.blum@avantium.com

 

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