ZOOM-Interview with Alex Hogan (CEO of Vioneo) by Michael Carus (nova-Institut/RCI), 11 May 2026 (PDF)
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The vision of Vioneo as ‘fossil-free pioneers for the plastics industry, using green methanol to produce fossil-free polypropylene and polyethylene on a commercial scale‘ will be realised in China, not in Europe. Michael asks Alex why this is the case.
Mandatory EU legislation (quotas, definitions, regulatory differentiation) is the single most important enabler for Vioneo — and similar companies — to invest in Europe. Without it, the market remains voluntary, price-driven, and commercially unviable for premium fossil-free products.
As Europe is a more expensive production location than the US or Asia, the only way forward – as Alex Hogan makes clear – is to create clear, strong and lasting framework conditions in Europe to generate robust demand for renewable chemistry and plastics, as well as to build the infrastructure that makes production in the EU possible. These framework conditions are indeed being discussed and are planned, but it is not certain whether they will actually materialise, in what form, or when. But who invests in hopes and announcements?
