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First of a kind industrial facility for bio-based long-chain alcohols

Obiettivo

RenewChem will deliver the first industrial-scale facility converting renewable ethanol into long-chain “smart drop-in” bioalcohols, chemically identical to fossil equivalents and fully compatible with existing infrastructure. This innovation transforms a declining market—bioethanol as fuel, subsidy-dependent and politically fragile—into a strategic industrial opportunity, freeing more than 100 European ethanol plants from transport-fuel dependency. The First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) plant will be located in Sines, Portugal, with a capacity of 15,000 t/year, consuming 22,416 t/year of bioethanol as feedstock. With €125.9M CAPEX and €21.8M/year OPEX, it targets an IRR of 11% and an NPV of €34M. Backed by a long-term offtake agreement with Arkema, the facility is expected to generate €30M annual revenues during its first five years, scaling to €70.8M/year from 2032 onwards, ensuring fossil-price parity and de-risked revenues.

The process, based on Guerbet condensation and developed by Catalyxx through 18 years of R&D and >50,000 operating hours, demonstrates ~40% ethanol conversion, >85% selectivity, and purities up to 99.2%. Its proprietary catalyst ensures long lifetimes, regenerability, and scalability, outperforming fermentation (ABE) and oxo-synthesis in cost and sustainability. While the FOAK covers 1.7% of the EU butanol market, replication potential is vast, enabling >45,000 tCO2/year savings. The produced alcohols have immediate downstream applications in acrylates, resins, coatings, adhesives, lubricants, surfactants, and sustainable aviation fuels.

RenewChem benefits from strong industrial and financial backing: Arkema secures a 5+5 year offtake for up to 100% of output, with additional interest from Mitsubishi and Covestro. The technology has already been licensed in India. MoUs and purchase orders for advanced engineering are in place, permitting is scheduled for 2026, and €82.5M financing is already committed, including Beka (€29.5M) and EIC (€7M).

Campo scientifico (EuroSciVoc)

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HORIZON-JU-IA - HORIZON JU Innovation Actions

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Coordinatore

CATALYXX PROCESOS CATALITICOS SOCIEDAD LIMITADA
Contributo netto dell'UE
€ 502 132,00
Indirizzo
C/ LEONARDO DA VINCI 25 POLIGONO INDUSTRIAL EL CANAMO II
41300 LA RINCONADA - SEVILLA
Spagna
PMI
Sì
Regione
Sur Andalucía Sevilla
Tipo di attività
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Collegamenti
Costo totale
€ 75 804 924,00

Partecipanti (4)