BRUSSELS and AMSTERDAM — July 7, 2011 — 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.
“We are very happy to be able to look at the potential of YXY building blocks in specialty
polyamides together with Avantium”, said Antoine Amory, in charge of renewable based chemistry
developments within the newly created Innovation Center of Solvay. “Avantium’s success in making
such building blocks available through a unique manufacturing route is an essential key step that
opens up new opportunities in the field of specialty polymers which we are impatient to explore.”
“We are excited about our collaboration with Solvay. The polyamides we will develop together
will become another novel and exciting outlet for our YXY building blocks,” said Tom van Aken, CEO
of Avantium. “Solvay’s expertise in the field of polyamides is very important to understand the
polyamides we will focus on and bring them closer to commercial applications. This agreement is
another important step to explore high-value added applications for our YXY building blocks, in
addition to work we are already doing in a complementary polyamide area.”
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).
Posted on July 12, 2011
Souce: Avantium
