Solvay and Avantium to jointly develop green engineering plastics

Solvay and Avantium announced today that they have entered into a partnership to jointly develop a next generation of green high-performance polyamides for engineering plastics. The partnership combines Solvay's leading position in specialty polymers and Avantium's YXY technology for producing building blocks for green materials.

The companies will work together to explore the commercial potential of engineering plastics on the basis of YXY building blocks. Through the partnership, new high-performance polyamides will be developed that are produced using renewable, bio-based feedstock. Solvay and Avantium target a next generation of polyamides with new properties that can serve a range of applications. Price and performance of the polyamides will be key drivers for the success of the project.

The companies will make a range of compositions containing Avantium's YXY building blocks. Subsequently, Solvay Specialty Polymers will test these polyamides for engineering applications in areas such as automotive and electronic materials. Solvay and Avantium have entered into a multi-year, exclusive collaboration towards commercialization of the new polyamides.

Solvay is a Group active in Chemistry since 1863, firmly committed to sustainable development, and offering a broad range of products and solutions that contribute to improving quality of life. It is a global leader in specialty polymers, vinyls, essential and specialty chemicals. Avantium is a research and technology company that is unlocking a new generation of biobased chemical building blocks, under the brand name YXY (~icksy).

About YXY: Avantium has developed YXY (pronounced icksy) - a family of green building blocks for making materials and fuels that can compete on both price and performance with oil based alternatives, but which have a superior environmental footprint. YXY is a patented technology that converts biomass into Furanic building blocks, such as FDCA (2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid). YXY is the perfect solution for today's challenges, using carbohydrates as feedstock to enable the manufacture of products which are both green and sustainable. This fast and cost-effective production process is based on Avantium's catalytic technology. YXY can be implemented in existing chemical production assets. Avantium is collaborating with leading companies in the industry to develop and produce green materials and fuels based on YXY building blocks.

Source: Avantium