Netherlands-based chemical technology producer Avantium raised €20m ($22.7m) in financing on Tuesday, which it will put towards building a factory for a plastic material it is producing and marketing in partnerhip with chemical producer BASF.
The capital was provided by PMV, an independent investment company for the region of Flanders, and FPIM, the Belgian Federal Holding and Investment Company. They were joined in the round by existing, unnamed shareholders in Avantium.
Avantium’s corporate backers include plastics producer Alpla, which contributed to a €36m funding round in 2014, diversified conglomerate Swire Pacific, drinks producer Coca-Cola, food and beverage company Danone, chemicals producer Eastman Chemicals and pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Avantium uses renewable sources to produce furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is the chemical building block of a new kind of plastic called polyethylenefuranoate (PEF). It launched a joint venture with BASF last month to produce and market FDCA, and to market PEF.
The funding will support construction of a reference plant to produce FDCA. BASF, which will house the plant at its Antwerp location, intends to invest in the construction independently following the successful establishment of the joint venture, though further details have not been disclosed.
Avantium has now raised at least €104m in total. Its existing investors also include Sofinnova Partners, Aster Capital, De Hoge Dennen, Aescap Venture, Capricorn Cleantech Fund, ING Corporate Investments, Navitas Capital, DFJ Esprit, AlpInvest and EDB Investments.
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline’s SR One subsidiary, MVM and Signet Healthcare Partners sold their stakes in the company as part of an €18m funding round in 2008.
– A version of this news story first appeared on our sister site, Global Government Venturing. The original article was written by reporter Mark Chatterley.