RenewChem Flagship Project Launches in Sevilla to Pioneer Next-Generation Circular Chemistry

A strategic European consortium scales up sustainable bio-based alternatives to replace fossil-derived intermediates and decarbonise industrial value chains.

SEVILLA, SPAIN - The chemical industry in Europe is experiencing a major shift towards sustainable manufacturing with the official launch of RenewChem. Funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) under the EU's Horizon Europe programme, this ambitious 48-month flagship initiative has kicked off its inaugural meeting in Sevilla, gathering five industrial and innovation partners from across Europe.

The chemical sector remains a fundamental pillar of the EU economy, yet its traditional reliance on carbon-intensive processes requires urgent innovation to align with the European Green Deal and the Net-Zero Industry Act targets. RenewChem addresses this challenge directly by scaling up a disruptive thermochemical catalytic technology capable of converting bioethanol into higher-value long-chain alcohols.

These green alternatives will serve as cost-effective, molecularly identical and carbon-negative drop-in substitutes for conventional petrochemical intermediates, substantially reducing carbon footprints across key downstream chemical value chains.

Led by technology developer CATALYXX (Spain) alongside sector leaders EVONIK (Germany), ARKEMA (France) and boutique advisor firm MAGFI (Malta), the consortium represents a complete cross-border value chain. Over the two-day Kick-off Meeting, partners focused on immediate priorities for the first six months of the project, including further reinforcing collaborative workflows, setting and deploying baseline engineering schedules for a flagship bio-alcohol facility (biorefinery) as well as defining and deploying the project's public identity and branding.

"The launch of RenewChem signs a critical milestone for Europe's bioeconomy. By uniting world-class technological innovation with key industrial leaders, we are validating commercial-scale solutions that prove circular chemical manufacturing is economically viable, industrially efficient and profoundly beneficial for the environment."
- Paloma Fra, RenewChem Coordinator Statement

Over its 48-month lifecycle, the RenewChem project will focus on four core operational areas to guarantee maximum market integration and sustainability:
* Flagship Plant Concept: Deploying a commercial-scale, first-of-a-kind industrial bio-alcohol production facility based on advanced chemical engineering and optimised process design.
* Value Chain Integration: Coordinating the pathway from secure, sustainable bioethanol feedstock supply up to rigorous downstream purification and industrial verification.
* Environmental & Economic Impact Assessment: Applying safety, waste and independent life-cycle assessments (LCA) to ensure clear greenhouse gas avoidance and cost-competitiveness.
* Supportive Ecosystem & Cross-Cutting Frameworks: Driving multi-actor stakeholder engagement, Open Science knowledge-sharing tools and sound data management to benefit the wider European bioeconomy.

Ultimately, RenewChem aims to deliver demonstrable scalability and secure stable, high-performance bio-based chemical supplies that help chemical manufacturers meet strict international sustainability benchmarks without sacrificing product quality or performance.

Project Media Contact
Laura Franco Martinez
MAGFI LTD, Triq L-Arzell 16, Spielberg 2, Marsaskala, MSK 3410, Malta (EU)
laufra@magfi.eu

Project Coordinator
Paloma Fra Sánchez
CATALYXX Proceso Cataliticos SL, Polígono El Cañamo II, Calle Leonardo da Vinci 25, 41309 La Rinconada, Sevilla, Spain.
Email: paloma.fra@catalyxxinc.com

RenewChem is a flagship European project selected by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) to demonstrate the first industrial-scale production of bio-based higher alcohols from ethanol. Coordinated and led by Catalyxx, the project brings together a European consortium of industrial, technology and innovation partners, Arkema, Evonik and Magfi, with the objective of accelerating the deployment of renewable drop-in chemicals and supporting the transition towards a more sustainable chemical industry.

* Catalyxx: The project coordinator and a technology company specialising in thermochemical catalytic biorefinery. Catalyxx's proprietary technology transforms bioethanol into high-value, drop-in bio-based chemicals that are molecularly identical to fossil-based equivalents.
* Arkema: A global leader in specialty materials based in France. Within the consortium, Arkema acts as a key industrial partner and has secured a long-term offtake agreement for the project's bio-based output, supporting the integration of sustainable chemicals into existing industrial value chains.
* Evonik: A leading German specialty chemicals company. As a key project partner, Evonik contributes its industrial expertise, including its role in the supply of catalysts essential to the chemical production process.
* Magfi: An innovation and technology partner within the RenewChem consortium, contributing to the project's objective of accelerating the deployment of renewable drop-in chemicals and supporting the European transition toward a more sustainable chemical industry.

This release was published on openPR.