Dutch renewable and circular polymer specialist Avantium (Amsterdam; www.avantium.com) said it has signed an agreement with Slovenian coating and composite resins producer Helios Resins (Domžale; www.resinshelios.com) for the supply of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA).

The multi-year capacity reservation covers FDCA produced with Avantium’s proprietary process technology at its domestic industrial-scale plant in Delfzijl, which is nearing completion. Avantium said once operational, the facility will be the first in the world to produce FDCA on a commercial scale.

FDCA can be used in the production of coating resins, surfactants, polyamides, polyurethanes, and PEF, among other applications.

Avantium is planning large-scale PEF production in Delfzijl sometime this year.

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Helios Resins, a unit of Kansai Helios, which in turn is part of Kansai Paint, said it aims to at least partially replace petrochemical-based terephthalic acid with FDCA. The company produces over 70,000 t/y of liquid resins, including coatings, composites, and polyester polyols for transport, construction, and industrial applications.