Avantium awarded EUR 1.5 million EU grant to demonstrate the electrochemical conversion of CO2 into sustainable plastic materials

This programme aims to demonstrate the utilisation of CO₂ as a feedstock for the production of polyesters. The EUR 1.5 million grant will be paid out in tranches to Avantium over a period of four years, starting in September 2023.

Avantium is a frontrunner in developing and commercialising innovative technologies for the production of materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks, i.e. carbon from biomass or carbon from the air (CO₂). One of Avantium’s innovative technology platforms, called Volta Technology, uses electrochemistry to convert CO₂ into high-value chemical building blocks and polyesters.

Under the HICCUPS programme, Avantium will convert CO₂ from biogas produced at wastewater treatment plants into the sustainable plastic material PLGA (polylactic-co-glycolic acid). PLGA with 80 % glycolic acid or more has an excellent barrier against oxygen and moisture and good mechanical properties. It is furthermore recyclable and both home compostable and marine degradable. PLGA can be used, for example, as coating material and in moulded plastic materials. This makes PLGA an excellent alternative for fossil-based polyethylene.

The HICCUPS programme, which has received a EUR 5 million EU Horizon Europe grant in total, will demonstrate the full value chain from biogenic CO₂ to polyester end-use and is expected to be executed over four years. Avantium will lead the HICCUPS consortium consisting of Avantium and 11 other industry and academic organisations: Funditec (Spain), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), INRAE (France), ACCIONA (Spain), Nova Institut (Germany), VTT (Finland), University of Ferrara (Italy), Tecnopackaging (Spain), Aqualung (Norway), SINTEF (Norway) and Walki (Finland).

Annelie Jongerius, Technology Manager at Avantium and scientific coordinator of HICCUPS: “Avantium is proud to lead the development of CO₂-based polyesters and we look forward to working with like-minded organisations on Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) under the HICCUPS programme. This award of the prestigious European Horizon grant reflects our expertise in the conversion of CO₂ into high-value polyesters using electrochemistry and our ability to develop innovative new materials”.

This project has received funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon Europe funding programme under grant agreement No 101112455. AT

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