Jul 10 2007
During the visit of the Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Mr. Lodewijk Asscher, Avantium has announced that it is active in developing a novel generation of biofuels.
The Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, Lodewijk Asscher, said: "The city of Amsterdam is delighted with the progress of Avantium. Avantium is a fast growing and highly innovative company with large potential for our city".
Tom van Aken, Chief Executive Officer of Avantium, said: " We are very proud to be able to undertake break-through R&D in the area of renewable energy This illustrates the success of our strategy to develop new products on the basis of our unique technology."
Biofuels are transportation fuels derived from biomass, such as sugars. They are a sustainable alternative for fossil based fuels such as gasoline and diesel. In 2006, Avantium started with a research program to develop biofuels with improved properties compared to the current generation of biofuels, in order to increase the mileage per liter. To be able to efficiently produce this new generation of biofuels, the company has focused on chemically catalyzed processes rather than on fermentation based production methods. In the next phase, Avantium will produce larger volumes of these novel biofuels and run engine tests.
The ultimate goal is to develop and commercialize these novel products through partnerships with leading industrial companies in the field.
During the visit, the Flowrence research platform was also presented. The Flowrence is a parallel reactor system for testing catalysts, the result of 7 years development by Avantium. Avantium has developed a customized Flowrence for its biofuels development program. This Flowrence unit, which will further accelerate the Avantium research program, had a central position in today's festivities.