Amcor to explore use of Avantium’s Releaf product in rigid packaging

Circular polymer materials company Avantium N.V. has signed a joint development agreement with Amcor Rigid Packaging USA LLC to explore the use of Avantium’s plant-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) polymer—branded as Releaf—in rigid containers for various products such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal care.

Additionally, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based subsidiary of Amcor Plc has committed to a multiyear capacity reservation for PEF from a future industrial-scale facility, based on a technology license from Avantium. The agreement guarantees Amcor preferred access to PEF volumes produced by Avantium’s future licensee network.

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Headquartered in the Netherlands, Avantium has developed a proprietary process to produce furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), the key building block for PEF, and currently is in the process of starting up a commercial FDCA plant in Delfzijl, Netherlands. The company says its flagship plant will be pivotal for its licensing strategy, allowing it to sell FDCA and PEF directly to customers while also offering technology licenses to industrial partners.

Ensuring sufficient commercial demand is crucial for future licensing partners, the company says, adding that the capacity reservation agreement with Amcor demonstrates Avantium’s ability to meet this demand effectively.

“This collaboration with Amcor underscores the increasing demand for Releaf in sustainable packaging solutions and supports our strategy for licensing our FDCA technology,” says Bineke Posthumus, commercial director of Avantium Renewable Polymers. “We are excited to work with Amcor to bring Releaf to the market, providing consumers with high-performance, eco-friendly packaging solutions.”

Avantium's Releaf is a 100 percent plant-based polymer that the company says can be recycled in existing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) streams and is included in the Critical Guidance Protocol from the Washington-based Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). The company says Releaf features include its superior barrier properties that can extend the shelf life of food and beverages, its higher mechanical strength that can reduce material usage and its lower processing temperature that can cut consumption compared to traditional fossil-based plastics.

Avantium says that Releaf’s lower carbon footprint also will support Amcor’s net-zero ambitions by 2050.

“This partnership between Amcor and Avantium represents a significant step forward in advancing responsible packaging solutions,” says Terry Patcheak, Amcor’s vice president of research and development and program management excellence. “It combines Amcor’s expertise in innovative packaging with Avantium’s renewable and circular polymer Releaf. This partnership enhances our efforts to offer customers innovative packaging that is better for products, people and the planet.”