While chemical companies are cutting back on investments, abandoning new projects and closing factories en masse, there are also some positive developments. Vioneo plans to build a factory in Antwerp with the capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes of green plastics per year. Founded in 2023 by logistics giant A.P. Moller, the newcomer plans to produce polypropylene and LDPE using green methanol as a raw material.

The outside world probably knows the parent company, A.P. Moller Holding, through its subsidiary, A.P. Moller-Maersk. Although this may seem unrelated to green plastics, Maarten Reenalda, chief development officer at Vioneo, says nothing could be further from the truth. ‘About ten years ago, A.P. Moller-Maersk started making its ships’ engines suitable for methanol as fuel. All new ships have a dual-fuel engine. This was one of the reasons why C2X was founded in 2023 to focus on producing green methanol. The idea was that we could do more with methanol.’ The Danish company is also the parent company of the Faerch Group, a major player in the circular production and recycling of PET for food packaging.

Countercyclical

In any case, few companies in the chemical sector are currently considering building a large new factory in Europe. Ineos CEO Jim Ratcliffe recently said that, with hindsight, he would never have built Project One in Antwerp because of the difficulties involved in setting up the installations.

Reenalda sees Vioneo’s investment as countercyclical. ‘The fact that many companies are closing factories or leaving may actually represent an opportunity for innovative parties and processes. For existing industry, changing production processes is often difficult. New companies do not bear that burden.’ However, he immediately adds a note of realism: ‘No, I don’t think our project will be easy. Large projects are, by definition, complicated on all fronts.’

‘Antwerp stood out head and shoulders above the rest for us.’

Maarten Reenalda

According to Reenalda, choosing Europe is logical in the first place because potential customers are located here. ‘Environmental regulations are also the most developed here. That supports our business case. We are committed to an energy-efficient process with low emissions. We use green raw materials and electrify the process as much as possible.’

Large clusters

The Antwerp site, where the Vioneo project is planned, was acquired by Vopak from Gunvor two years ago, and is now being developed further in collaboration with the Port of Antwerp. Reenalda explains why Vioneo chose this site for the construction of the new installations: ‘Given the scale of our project, which requires around 30 hectares, the possible sites are limited to the large chemical clusters. Antwerp stood out to us because of its available infrastructure, its access to important waterways, and above all, the port authority’s vision for the future of the cluster.’

‘What is new about our processes is that the methanol has a green origin.’

Michael Poulsen

According to Reenalda, the fact that Vopak is developing this specific site is definitely an advantage. ‘We can make use of Vopak’s knowledge and expertise when it comes to import and storage facilities for methanol, among other things.’ Other activities will be carried out on the remaining 105 hectares of the site. The Antwerp Port Authority and Vopak are striving to achieve synergy, says Reenalda. This is something that is being actively pursued.

A shared infrastructure will be provided for all users of the site, including a wastewater treatment plant and a substation for the electricity supply.

Proven technology

The processes that Vioneo will apply are not new in essence. The company converts methanol into propene and ethene via the MTO (methanol to olefins) process. UOP-Honeywell’s technology has been used in seven Chinese plants since 2013.

Michael Poulsen, Technology Lead at Vioneo, says: ‘This technology allows olefins to be produced from methanol. Coal is usually the raw material. What is new about our processes is that the methanol has a green origin. It is made from organic waste.’

Incidentally, the 800,000 tonnes of methanol required for the processes each year does not necessarily come from sister company C2X. Vioneo is in talks with various market parties about securing a supply. The polymerisation processes used to produce PP and LDPE also utilise proven technology from Lummus and ECI.

’A renaissance is needed; the plastics market needs to be shaken up.’

Maarten Reenalda

The PP process is used to produce 26 million tonnes of polypropylene worldwide every year. The LDPE process has been used by many major petrochemical companies since 1956. ‘We have further optimised these processes in terms of energy consumption. Heat integration is possible in many places within the process’, explains Poulsen. Another new development is the electrification of the processes wherever possible. ‘As a result, we no longer use steam. This means we can reduce CO₂ emissions by 5 to 6 kilograms per kilogram of plastic produced.’

The project is currently in the FEED (front-end engineering design) phase. In parallel, the company is working on the permit applications. Obtaining these, as well as achieving a social ‘licence to operate’, is a delicate task, especially given precedents with other large projects in the sector. ‘That is why we are trying to involve as many NGOs and governments as possible.’

Vioneo believes that the plastics sector in Europe definitely has a future. Reenalda: ‘A renaissance is needed; the plastics market needs to be shaken up by focusing on more sustainable processes. This is also necessary to make the sector resilient for the future.’ Once the permits are in place and the FEED phase has been completed, Vioneo expects to be able to make a final investment decision in mid-2026.