A close-up look at Vioneo’s vision for fossil-free plastics

Elisabeth Skoda: Who is the company behind Vioneo, and what inspired its foundation?

Katja Wodjereck: Vioneo was launched in October last year, but initial preparation and analysis of green methanol possibilities started earlier than that.

Our founder is A.P. Moller Holding, the parent company of the A.P. Moller Group, which includes a range of companies across various sectors and industries. Notably, they own Maersk, one of the biggest shipping companies in the world.

For the shipping industry, one of the methods of decarbonizing is the use of green methanol. This led to the question: What other applications are there? The methanol-to-olefin (MTO) technology is exciting and has been around for some time. It takes a big investment to bring it up to scale, but APMH is committed to adding social value and doing the right thing for society. We all know how critical plastics are for society and for packaging.

We are currently in the process of setting up a plant to manufacture polypropylene and polyethylene based exclusively on green methanol as feedstock. Once completed, it will provide a drop in virgin polymer that can be used in varied applications. The plant will produce around 300.000 tonnes of fossil-free plastics, cutting at least 1.5 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually.

ES: Could you explain what green methanol is and how it is sourced?

KW: Green methanol comes from biomass, for example from forestry or agricultural waste and is created using renewable electricity. It’s important to underline that it comes from a non-food feedstock, which is one of the key differentiators. The green methanol will then get converted into virgin-grade polypropylene and polyethylene in our newly built plant, which will feature a circular emissions design and will be powered by renewable electricity, with traceable input and output. The magic of this process happens right at the beginning – it is indeed powered by nature.

The polymer that we will be producing offers high CO₂ savings. We calculated that we are saving up to six kilograms of CO₂ for every kilogram of plastics, which is quite substantial. Our value chain is fully segregated and traceable.

It was recently announced that Vioneo will use Honeywell’s advanced methanol-to-olefin (MTO) conversion technology at the plant in Antwerp. Honeywell is a well-proven MTO supplier already, so their experience will be beneficial.

ES: What were the obstacles to using this process previously, and how have they been overcome?

KW: While there are many sustainable technologies out there, they rarely compete with the fossil-based alternatives from a cost point of view. That’s what makes scaling sustainable solutions and creating markets so difficult. Fossil solutions have had time to be scaled over decades.

Going big with any sustainable solution requires big investments into technology to be able to commercialize the idea. At least in the beginning, sustainable solutions won’t be able to compete from a commercial perspective.

So, how do we get there? Partnering up with other forward thinking and early adopter converters and brand owners who are driven by a likeminded mission.

Another and important way is by fostering effective and smart regulation. The Maritime, Aviation and Transportation sector gives some good examples, where effective regulation encourages the use of biofuels as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We hope that thanks to the PPWR, biobased feedstocks add to the focus. As is already the case with circularity, there is still work to be done to articulate how bioplastics, and in particular fossil-free plastics, will enable a fully circular and decarbonised system but this work is happening now.

ES: Where does this technology sit within the regulation framework of the PPWR?

KW: With the PPWR, as it stands today, the focus is on the end of life. Plastics cause big problems when they end up in the environment as waste. Producing them comes with higher emissions, and they run on fossil fuels.

The PPWR is the law now. But the details of targets and what they mean still need to be worked out. We are keen to work very closely with the European Commission and sit at the table to focus on Article 8. We want to see green methanol recognised as a bio-based feedstock, as it is a key part of the solution. The European Commission understands that recycling is only going to take us so far. Biogenic feedstocks are going to take us the rest of the way. We want to make sure that green methanol as a biogenic feedstock is recognized as a strong contender and that there are viable and sensible targets for the use of bioplastics.

Vioneo doesn’t have FID (final investment decision) yet, but we hope to have this by the end of 2025. We are hoping to then have the plant finalized by the beginning of 2028, and we believe that by the early 2030s, the PPWR will make sure that both the circularity and the bio-based parts of the sustainability puzzle are being addressed.

The new plant will be built in Antwerp, which was chosen due to its location in the heart of Europe with excellent transport links, including the port of Antwerp. We have hired our project team and an operations director, who is very experienced. Our Antwerp office opened recently, and we will start with feed technologies soon.

ES: What about the end of life of the polymers you produce?

KJ: At the end of the day, we are producing a polymer, and we have to make sure that the polymer we produce is recyclable. Our polymers are “drop in solutions” meaning chemically a “look alike” from any fossil PE/PP grade. Our customers can plan the end of life the same way as they would with any fossil-based polypropylene or polyethylene.

When you reuse and recycle, you still lose some energy. In an ideal world, virgin feedstock is made from non-fossil materials. That’s where we come in and help to create a continuous bio circular loop. It’s not just about the very essential circularity of plastics, but also the circularity of carbon. We help to ensure that the CO₂ is kept in the loop.

ES: How do you see the technology in the medium to long term – could it become a major way of producing plastics?

KJ: The answer is yes. Looking at overall demand, 300.000 tons is just a little drop. However, we plan to build up this platform and then evaluate other potential sites. Our aim is to make a long-lasting impact on the whole industry. We consider ourselves pioneers, and as pioneers, we hope others will follow us for the good of the whole society.

ES: If everything goes well, where do you see yourself in five years?

KJ: Today, our project is unique. Nobody is making polyolefins out of green methanol, for all the reasons that we discussed before.

In an ideal world we would like to see methanol to olefin as the leading green production method for bioplastics worldwide. We believe in this project and hope to be growing together with customers, shaking up marketing, moving regulation in the area of the circular bioeconomy, and growing the platform by building more plants.