Avantium has completed commissioning of the purification unit at its FDCA flagship plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The plant is the world’s first commercial-scale facility for producing FDCA, a key building block in bio-based plastics.
With the purification unit now online, all major process units at the site have been commissioned. It’s a significant milestone. Avantium says it marks an important step toward full plant start-up.
The purification unit follows earlier commissioning work. Utility systems and the sugar dehydration unit started up first. The oxidation unit came next. Avantium is now moving into integrated start-up activities. The company is preparing for its first production run of FDCA at the plant.
Hero de Jager, interim chief operations officer at Avantium, called the milestone an important step in the plant’s start-up. He said the company’s focus now shifts to producing the first batches of FDCA. De Jager added that Avantium remains committed to a safe start-up and to beginning commercial deliveries under its existing offtake agreements as planned.
For the rest of 2026, Avantium will focus on completing the plant’s start-up. The company also plans to produce its first FDCA batches and finish qualification work. Commercial sales under existing offtake agreements are expected to begin by the end of 2026, pending successful start-up and product qualification.
A successful start-up would validate Avantium’s FDCA technology at commercial scale. It could also support ongoing licensing discussions. The company expects to reach full design capacity roughly 24 months after start-up.
FDCA is produced using Avantium’s YXY technology, which converts plant-based sugars into the compound. FDCA is the key ingredient in PEF, a sustainable plastic sold under the releaf brand.
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