Danish investment firm AP Moller's new venture Vioneo has selected US-based Lummus Technology to supply the polypropylene (PP) production technology for its green methanol-to-polymers (MTP) plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
The Vioneo site should have a total capacity of 300,000 t/yr including both polyethylene (PE) and PP. Lummus stated that the plant would have a capacity of 200,000 t/yr of PP, implying a capacity of 100,000 t/yr of PE. When Vioneo announced the project in September 2024, it said that it was aiming to bring the plant online in 2028. It noted that "the project's success depends on broad stakeholder support, including updated regulatory frameworks and policies supporting a competitive environment for fossil-free plastics, as well as better conditions for the European chemicals industry such as lower energy costs".
The company has not yet announced a final investment decision, which it said was likely to take place this year.
The plant will use Lummus' Novolen polypropylene technology that can use bio-feedstock to produce fully bio-based polymers. Vioneo said previously that it planned to source green methanol for the plant externally — possibly including biomethanol made from biomethane or biomass feedstocks or "e-methanol" produced from renewable electricity.
The firm said that it would prefer to source feedstock from within Europe but is considering other sources, such as Asia, owing to a lack of capacity.
Vioneo selected UK-based engineering firm Wood Group in April to build the green MTP plant.
