PEFerence, a consortium of companies featuring Synvina, BASF, Nestec and Lego, has received a €25 million (£21.7 million) grant from the European Union.
The funds for polyethylenfuranoate (PEF) research are from the European Joint Undertaking on Bio-Based Industries (BBI), to establish a complete value chain for the use of
bio-based furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) for PEF, as well as chemicals and materials based on polyethylenefuranoate (PEF).
It includes the intended construction of a 50,000 tons FDCA reference plant, the main chemical building block to make PEF. Synvina will be coordinating the PEFerence project.
Patrick Schiffers, CEO of Synvina, said: “The grant of the BBI is a strong signal for Synvina and our partners along the value chain to continue our mutual process to make PEF commercially available. To open up a market for a new plastic based on renewable feedstock is a major challenge that we best meet with strong partners and our combined expertise. We share the common goal to get PEF commercially to the market thereby providing the market materials with superior properties and to establish sustainable and bio-based plastic value chains.”
PEF can significantly help to replace fossil-based packaging materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. PEF is an innovative polyester suitable for applications such as bottles, films and polyurethanes.
Synvina