Avantium, an Amsterdam and Geleen, The Netherlands-based technology company specialized in the area of advanced high-throughput R&D, closed a €36m (approximately $50m) financing round.
Backers included Swire Pacific, The Coca-Cola Company, DANONE, ALPLA, as well as existing shareholders Sofinnova Partners, Capricorn Venture Partners, ING Corporate Investments, Aescap Venture, Navitas Capital, Aster Capital and De Hoge Dennen Capital.
The company intends to use the funds to advance PEF, its innovative packaging material, complete its industrial validation and finalize the engineering & design of the first commercial scale plant.
Led by Tom van Aken, CEO, Avantium develops and commercializes YXY, a technology platform to catalytically convert plant based materials into biobased chemicals and bioplastics like PEF (a novel 100% biobased polyester with enhanced barrier, thermal and mechanical properties over existing packaging materials).
The company is supplying its technology development partners with PEF manufactured from material produced at its pilot plant in Geleen. It planning its first commercial scale plant (50,000ton), which is projected to be operational in 2017 to enable the full commercial launch of the first PEF bottles to consumers.
FinSMEs
05/06/2014