15 December 2011
Overview
Virent and The Coca-Cola Company
have entered into a strategic partnership to
accelarate the commercialzation of
100 % Bio-PET bottles.
Product in the agreement : Plant-based PX
The companies have signed multi-year, multi-million dollar
joint development and supply agreement to
scale-up Virent's plant-based Paraxylene (PX).
as a route to commercially viable,
100 % renewable,
100 % recyclable plant bottle PET resin
Virent plant-based paraxylene will be used in
Coca-Cola's existing supply chain to make
100 % bio-based PTA that will be mixed with
biobased MEG to produce
PET resin with 100 % bio-based content.
Virent and The Coca-Cola Company will rapidly progress
both development and engineering under this effort.
Timeframe
Virent targeting 2015 for
the first commercial plant opening.
The majority of the PX produced from Virent's first plant
will be allocated for purchase by The Coca-Cola Company's
supply chain partners for the Company's product packaging.
Virent reserve the remainder of plant-based paraxylene for
market development in complementary PET and polyester applications.
About the drive towards bio-based bottles
The world's largest soft-drink maker introduced the
plant bottle packaging in 2009, which consists of a conventional plastic
made with up to 30 % plant-based material.
Since that time, The Coca-Cola Company has aggressively sought
viable plant-based options for the remaining 70 % of the material.
Virent's plant-based paraxylene (PX) will allow Coca-Cola to
offer its customers up to
100 % renewable,
100 % recyclable bottles
which can be processed through
existing manufacturing and recycling facilities
Virent
* The Coca-Cola Company's commitment to provide
its customers with 100 % Bio-PET packaging
made from 100 % renewable and recyclable material
is a bold example of visionary brand leadership.
* Virent's partnership with Coca-Cola will play a significant
role in achieving this vision
The Coca-Cola Company
* While the technology to make bio-based materials
in a lab has been available for years, Virent is a company
that processes technologies that have high potential for
creating them on a global commercial scale within the
next few years.
* This is a significant R & D investment in packaging innovation
and is the next step toward our vision of creating all of
our plastic packaging from
responsibly sourced plant-based materials.
