Avantium Completes Commissioning of Purification Unit at FDCA Plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 7, Avantium completed the commissioning of the purification unit at its FDCA flagship plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, marking the completion of commissioning for all major process units at the plant, including utilities, the sugar dehydration unit, the oxidation unit, and the purification unit. The project has now entered the integrated plant start-up phase, and Avantium plans to continue advancing the production of first FDCA, product qualification, and preparation for commercial delivery. The plant is designed with an annual production capacity of up to 5,000 tons of FDCA, produced from plant-based sugars using Avantium's YXY technology.

The FDCA production process consists of three main process steps: sugar dehydration, oxidation, and purification. Avantium uses high-fructose syrup as the primary feedstock. The sugar dehydration unit first converts sugars into the MMF intermediate, which then proceeds to the oxidation unit, and finally undergoes purification to obtain the FDCA product. The sugar dehydration unit and utility systems were already put into operation in 2025. With the completion of the purification unit commissioning, the main production processes at the Delfzijl plant are now ready for integrated plant start-up.

The project is located at Chemie Park Delfzijl. Plant construction was completed in October 2024, followed by phased commissioning progressing unit by unit. In 2025, auxiliary facilities such as tank farms and steam systems, as well as the sugar dehydration unit, were started up successively. In early 2026, the oxidation and purification units were still in the commissioning phase. In January, Avantium identified construction quality issues in certain titanium pipe welds during commissioning and implemented additional inspections and rework, with the associated repairs adding approximately €7 million in capital expenditure.

On April 30, Avantium completed the titanium weld repair project and subsequently continued with the final commissioning of the oxidation and purification units. Following the completion of the purification unit commissioning on September 7, the project has formed an engineering timeline of "utilities and sugar dehydration unit operation — titanium weld repair — oxidation unit commissioning — purification unit commissioning — integrated plant start-up." The next milestone is the production of first FDCA and the completion of product qualification.

Avantium plans to complete the integrated plant start-up and first FDCA production during the remainder of 2026, and to prepare for commercial sales under existing offtake agreements. The company currently expects commercial deliveries to begin at the end of 2026, subject to the successful completion of the integrated plant start-up and product qualification. Following plant start-up, Avantium expects it will take approximately 24 months to reach the full design capacity of 5,000 tons per year.

The FDCA produced at the Delfzijl plant will be polymerized by polymerization partner Selenis with bio-based monoethylene glycol to produce PEF material under Avantium's releaf brand. The project's existing value chain includes sugar feedstock supply, FDCA production, external polymerization, product certification, and offtake sales. Avantium has signed releaf-related capacity reservations or offtake agreements with multiple customers, and the first commercial FDCA will enter the existing contract framework.

Avantium made the final investment decision for the FDCA flagship plant back in 2021, at which time the project had already secured engineering design, supply chain, offtake commitments, and €90 million in debt financing arrangements. The project is planned as the world's first commercial-scale FDCA production facility, with a design capacity of 5,000 tons per year. Following the completion of the purification unit commissioning on September 7, the project has transitioned from individual equipment commissioning to the integrated plant start-up and first product production phase.