When the PEFerence flagship biorefinery opened its doors in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, in October 2024, it became the world's first industrial-scale plant producing FDCA, a key ingredient for plant-based, fully recyclable plastic. This versatile ingredient can replace traditional plastics in packaging, textiles and many other applications.
Co-funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and led by Avantium, the project has continued to deliver well beyond its funded lifetime, turning an EU investment in first-of-a-kind infrastructure into a growing industrial ecosystem.
Ready for the market
Since the project's completion, the plant's commissioning has advanced steadily. Most production units are already operational, with commercial sales expected at the end of 2026. The market is ready: in August 2026, Avantium had secured 22 offtake agreements (advance commitments by customers to buy future output) for products from the Delfzijl plant and 15 capacity reservation agreements for volumes from future license facilities. PEF is known under the brand name releaf®, an EU registered trademark of Avantium.
The PEFerence project has been instrumental in demonstrating the commercial and environmental potential of PEF. As we move from innovation to implementation, we are actively scaling up partnerships across the value chain to bring high-performance, sustainable packaging solutions like releaf® to market. This marks a significant step towards a circular plastics economy.
Ed de Jong, VP Development at Avantium.
Regulatory recognition has followed suit: Avantium's PET/PEF bottle has been confirmed as fully recyclable within the existing PET recycling stream in both Europe and Japan, clearing the path for widespread adoption.
High demand from across industries
New commercial partnerships launched after the project's completion show demand broadening across sectors: Logoplaste, a Portuguese global packaging manufacturer, and Avantium partnered within the bottle collective for high performance fibre-based bottles with a PEF inner liner spanning beverages, food, pharma, home and personal care. Packamama, the UK- and Australia-based wine-packaging innovator, is applying releaf® to lightweight wine bottles. Hoogesteger, a leading Dutch producer has signed to package their cold-pressed juices. And Heynen Systems, a Dutch technical textile knitting company and interliner automation plant, is exploring PEF for bedding and upholstery. These additions build on partnerships already underway with Parfums Christian Dior, Amcor Rigid Packaging, Auping and Casa de Malha, together illustrating sustained, widening industrial pull.
New investment, new companies
The project's momentum has also translated into new corporate growth. Avantium has spun out its Volta Technology, an electrochemical platform that converts CO₂ into high-performing chemicals using electricity, into an independent company, Carbeau, in which Avantium retains a 32.7% shareholding.
Avantium is also well advanced in the process of spinning out Parana Technology into an independent company, Parana Materials B.V. The technology enables the production of renewable, high-performance polyesters through simpler and cost-effective synthesis routes using commercially available monomers and existing industrial assets. It is anticipated that Avantium will retain a minority shareholding in the new venture, enabling it to participate in future value creation while maintaining focus on its strategic priority to commercialize FDCA and PEF.
