Amsterdam – Renewable chemistry specialist Avantium is to supply bio-based furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) to Henkel. It will be used as a raw material for adhesives in the electronics sector.
Avantium’s FDCA flagship plant is currently under construction in Delfzijl, Netherlands. The facility, which will manufacture FDCA from plant-based sugars, is set to be up and running by 2024. Avantium said this will be the world’s first such facility.
Henkel will use this FDCA to launch high-performance PU adhesives that will help electronics manufacturers achieve sustainability goals.
The two companies have been working together since 2019, with Henkel joining the Avantium-coordinated PEFerence project, which is supported by funding from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The project aims to develop “an innovative supply chain” for FDCA and polyethylene furanoate. As part of this project, Henkel looked at the feasibility of FDCA for PU adhesives, and it now plans to commercialise it.
“For us, this is just the start as we see high potential for FDCA in application areas beyond electronics, such as packaging, wood construction or textile lamination”, said Adrian Brandt, Henkel Adhesive Technologies’ head of bio-renewable materials.
“One of the benefits working with such diverse group of reputable companies within the PEFerence consortium is that it enables us to create new applications for FDCA and PEF,” said Bineke Posthumus, director of business development for Avantium Renewable Polymers. “The decision of Henkel to use FDCA for polyurethane adhesives for use in electronics applications is a great example of the possibility to use our high-quality, plant-based chemical building block FDCA in various markets and applications.”
