Avantium: Well Capitalised and Continued Good Progress in the Execution of its Strategy

Key Business Progress

• Avantium successfully completed an equity raise of €70 million in February 2024.
• Avantium Renewable Polymers is fully focused on the commercialisation of FDCA and PEF:

– Commissioning activities for the FDCA Flagship Plant started in the first quarter of 2024, with FDCA production expected to commence in the second half of 2024;

– A total of 15 offtake agreements for the FDCA Flagship Plant have now been secured, including 3 new agreements in 2023;

– The first technology licensing agreement with Origin Materials was signed in February 2023 and there are multiple ongoing discussions with other potential licensees;

– In December 2023, Avantium Renewable Polymers secured funding from its shareholders (Bio Plastics Investment Groningen, Worley and Avantium N.V.) and commitments from its lenders as part of a €64.5 million financing package to cover the total expected cost increase for the Renewable Polymers business unit, including the construction of the FDCA Flagship Plant, until the FDCA Flagship Plant is operational.

• Avantium’s Volta Technology has made significant progress and the business has signed agreements for two long-term strategic collaborations with SCG Chemicals and Norsk Hydro, with the goal of reaching a stage-gate decision to construct a pilot plant. 
• Although Avantium Renewable Chemistries made very encouraging technical and commercial progress in 2023, the Company decided to halt further investments in its Ray Technology™, in line with Avantium’s strategic decision to prioritise the commercialisation of FDCA and PEF.
• Avantium R&D Solutions increased revenues by 20% compared with 2022.

Tom van Aken, Chief Executive Officer of Avantium, said: “Avantium is fast approaching the greatest inflection point in its history. Nearly two decades after it all started, we are preparing to begin commercial operations at our FDCA Flagship Plant in 2024. Throughout 2023, we achieved multiple notable milestones, including the signing of our first technology licensing agreement and securing additional offtake agreements for the FDCA Flagship Plant. The FDCA Flagship Plant construction is progressing well with the first commissioning activities recently initiated. The construction of the FDCA Flagship Plant has been impacted by rising costs, and we greatly appreciate the support of our strategic partners and lenders in securing an extra financing package. Following the successful equity raise of €70 million in February 2024, we expect to remain well-capitalised until our Flagship Plant is fully commercially operational.

In other areas of the Company, 2023 proved to be a strong year for our carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) solution Volta Technology, with the business signing collaborations with global industry leaders SCGC and Norsk Hydro. Our plants-to-glycols Ray Technology™ made encouraging progress from both a technical and a commercial perspective. Nonetheless, to reinforce our strategic focus on the commercialisation of FDCA and PEF, we have decided to put further investments in our Ray Technology™ on hold. For our R&D Solutions business, we believe our new business plan will continue to deliver growth.

Looking ahead, we are well-positioned to create sustainable long-term value for our stakeholders. We would like to thank our partners and shareholders for their ongoing trust and loyalty, and our colleagues for their commitment and determination to bring a new plant-based polymer to the market. With the successful completion of our recent fundraise, we are well positioned to start-up our FDCA Flagship Plant, launch PEF products on the market and accelerate the implementation of our FDCA/PEF licensing strategy.”

About Avantium

Avantium is a pioneering commercial-stage company focused on renewable & circular polymer materials. Avantium develops and commercialises innovative technologies for the production of materials based on sustainable carbon feedstocks, i.e. carbon from biomass or carbon from the air (CO₂). The most advanced technology is the YXY® Technology that catalytically converts plant-based sugars into FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid), the key building block for the sustainable plastic PEF (polyethylene furanoate). Avantium has successfully demonstrated the YXY® Technology at its pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, and is currently constructing of the world’s first commercial plant for FDCA, with large-scale production of PEF expected in 2024. Avantium also provides R&D solutions in the field of sustainable chemistry and is the leading provider of advanced catalyst testing technology and services to accelerate catalyst R&D. Avantium works in partnership with like-minded companies around the globe to create revolutionary renewable chemistry solutions from invention to commercial scale.

Avantium’s shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels (symbol: AVTX). Avantium is incorporated in the Euronext Amsterdam SmallCap Index (AScX). Its offices and headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Source

Avantium, press release, 2024-03-20.

Supplier

Avantium Technologies B.V.

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