Company profile

Amsterdam based research and technology company Avantium (www.avantium.com) has developed a breakthrough technology, YXY, to produce green materials and fuels. The company is developing an efficient and low costs process to convert carbohydrates into a new class of molecules, also known as Furanics, on basis of novel chemical catalytic technology.

 

The history

Avantium was founded in 2000 by an international consortium of industrial companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Eastman Chemical, Akzo-Nobel and Pfizer to become the leader in high-throughput experimentation. The company has developed proprietary technology for faster and more successful development of catalysts for chemical and refinery applications and the development of pharmaceutical crystal forms. Avantium has announced the spin out of its pharmaceutical activities later in 2010.

On basis of its high-throughput catalysis platform Avantium provides Research & Development services and systems to leading oil and chemical companies including Shell, Sasol, BP, PetroBras, IFP and Celanese. Its services and systems activities are generating revenues and are profitable (revenues in 2010 were EUR 10 million). Its loyal and expanding customer base validates the strengths of Avantium’s technology and expertise in catalysis R&D.

 

Waking up a Sleeping Giant

In 2005 Avantium initiated its program to convert biomass into materials and fuels using its world-leading high-throughput catalyst development technology. This technology allows Avantium to screen in parallel under industrial conditions the performance of very large numbers of catalysts, catalyst preparation methods and process conditions. The company focused its efforts on Furanics, a novel class of building blocks to make materials and fuels. Furanics have been referred to as “Sleeping Giants” because of their enormous market potential, as evidenced by the research of DuPont and DSM in this area and its position in the US Department of Energy  top 12 of high-potential biobased products. Furanics were never commercialized because they could not be produced in an economic fashion. Avantium has discovered a revolutionary chemical, catalytic process that enables the economic production of Furanics on basis of a wide range of carbohydrates. YXY is the brand name for the Furanics technology to produce green building blocks.

 

YXY shows highly attractive economics and a very promising environmental footprint. The process has a good fit with existing chemical production assets, allowing to retrofit existing production assets to switch from fossil feedstock to renewable resources.

 

YXY technology

Avantium has initiated several collaborations to develop YXY for polyamides, polyurethanes and a number of chemical applications. Our partners are among others NatureWorks, Solvay, Teijin Aramids. The collaboration with NatureWorks (subsidiary of Cargill) for example is for the development of YXY polyesters. This collaboration has demonstrated that YXY polyesters have properties that are very similar to PET, allowing to develop a green version of this bulk polymer. The companies will further test its properties to evaluate applications in packaging, automotive, fibers, coatings and engineering plastics.

 

 

Avantium is also working on the development of YXY for fuels. By several engine tests Avantium has demonstrated the use of YXY as a green component to blend with diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

 

Avantium uses a licensing model for the commercialization of its YXY technology. The company has developed a strong IP position to protect is intellectual assets. The company is looking to enter into licensing agreements with industrial chemical and polymer companies for the production of YXY, and into partnerships with companies that can industrialize the use and sale of YXY green materials and fuels. The company has received a very high level of interest of companies in the chemical, polymer and consumer goods industries, because of the attractive products properties and the economic production technology of YXY.

 

YXY pilot plant

Avantium has a YXY pilot plant at the Chemelot site in Geleen, the Netherlands.The objective of this pilot plant is to optimize the production process and to demonstrate the process at larger scale, as well as the production of trial quantities of YXY for product development purposes.

 

Avantium management and shareholders

The company is managed by a seasoned management team with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and high level of industrial experience. Avantium’s shareholder base consists of distinguished venture capital funds including Sofinnova, Capricorn Cleantech Fund, Aescap, ING, Aster and Navitas. In June 2011 Avantium announced it has successfully raised EUR 30 million. Avantium will use the funds for the construction and operation of its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and for the development of green materials on basis of these YXY building blocks.

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