European Bioplastics (EUBP) unveiled its Bioplastics Market Development Update 2025 at EBC25 in Berlin, presenting new data that confirms the continued global expansion of biobased plastics production and their growing role in the transition to a sustainable, circular economy.
Avantium N.V., a Dutch company focused on renewable and circular polymer materials, successfully started up the sugar dehydration (SDH) unit and all auxiliary systems and utilities at its FDCA Flagship Plant in Delfzijl. This achievement marks a key technical achievement in the phased commissioning and start-up of the world’s first commercial facility dedicated to the production of FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), a key building block for the 100% plant-based and recyclable polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate), branded as releaf®. Avantium now expects to begin commercial sales under its existing offtake agreements in the first quarter of 2026.
According to Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and a global pioneer in large-scale biopolymer production, the demand for bio-based shopping bags is increasing in the Japanese market. In Japan, bio-based polyethylene (PE) is gaining attention as a sustainable material, particularly because CO2 emissions from its incineration can be counted as zero in the case of a biomass plastic-an attribute that aligns with the calculation of the effects in the Japanese government’s global warming countermeasures plan.
TotalEnergies Corbion, a global leader in PLA bioplastics, is strengthening regionally-produced compostable food serviceware availability in the United States through its ongoing partnership with Brazil-based Earth Renewable Technologies (ERT Bioplastics). By supplying its Luminy® PLA resin, a biobased and industrially compostable material, TotalEnergies Corbion enables ERT® to manufacture durable, high-quality food serviceware such as cutlery, cups, plates, and straws. These products are designed to meet the growing demand for sustainable, compostable packaging in the U.S. while also supporting supply chain flexibility through ERT’s® operations in Brazil.
Avantium, a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, signed a conditional offtake agreement for five years with PLIXXENT, a leading producer of polyurethane systems. Under this offtake agreement, PLIXXENT will purchase FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), produced in Avantium’s FDCA Flagship Plant, for the use in foams for insulation materials.
Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, signed a conditional offtake agreement with Hoogesteger, a leading producer of fresh cold-pressed juices in the Netherlands. Hoogesteger will purchase the 100% plant-based, recyclable polymer PEF (polyetehylene furanoate) from Avantium’s FDCA Flagship Plant for the use in bottles for its fresh juices made from ultra-fresh vegetables, fruit and fresh herbs.
Avantium, the Dutch company in renewable and circular polymer materials, signed a capacity reservation agreement with BIOVOX, a pioneer in sustainable healthcare plastics. Under this agreement, BIOVOX has committed to using Avantium’s PEF (polyethylene furanoate) in various pharmaceutical applications. This PEF is expected to be produced in a future industrial-scale facility, based on a technology license from Avantium. The multi-year capacity reservation ensures BIOVOX preferred access to PEF volumes produced by Avantium’s future licensee network.
Futerro, a Belgian company specialised in the production of lactic acid, lactide (two platform molecules) and PLA (polylactic acid), has launched the engineering and the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) – called “Avant-Projet Détaillé” in French – for its future European biorefinery to be located at Saint-Jean-de-Folleville between Rouen and Le Havre.
“For me and Futerro, innovation in the bioeconomy is all about reinvention and transition. It’s about finding alternative solutions that weave sustainability, circularity, and ecological resilience into the very core of what we do.” To say it – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Frederic Van Gansberghe, CEO of Futerro and the Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEO 2024.
According to him, “there is a clear gap between Europe’s ambitions and reality. Many industrial players usually ask to reduce the number of regulations and directives; in my case, I would request to increase their quality”
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Futerro S.A., a pioneering Belgian company specializing in the production of lactic acid, lactide and PLA (polylactic acid), closed its first fund-raising worth €12 million in preparation for the construction of its new biorefinery in Normandy. In addition to its historical shareholders, Finasucre and Compagnie du Bois Sauvage, Futerro has a new shareholder, Cybelle, whose shareholder is a major player in the packaging sector for the food industry, via the Cedap group.
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