A range of different investors have pledged EUR 30m to allow Dutch technology and R&D company Avantium (Amsterdam; www.avantium.com) to further develop its proprietary “YXY” technology for the cost-effective production of furanics building blocks for green materials and set up a relevant pilot plant in Geleen / The Netherlands.

The new technology allows Avantium to turn 2.5 furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) into polyethylenefuranoate (PEF) – a bio-based equivalent of traditional PET. The Dutch company even said PEF’s properties outshine those of PET in terms of its lower permeability of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water as well as its enhanced ability to withstand heat. The group is currently working on developing PEF bottles and fibres.