The updated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of releaf®, Avantium’s plant-based polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate), shows that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by up to 88% in beverage bottle applications compared to conventional PET (polyethylene terephthalate) under representative European conditions.

These results are based on a functional unit of a 500 mL beverage bottle delivering equivalent performance. The strongest reductions are achieved in monolayer PEF bottles, where the material’s superior properties enable both lower material use and a fundamentally different carbon balance.

This assessment, conducted through a collaboration between Avantium, Tereos and nova Institut and supported by the European Commission’s PEFerence project, provides one of the most comprehensive and industrially grounded evaluations of PEF to date. It confirms that a meaningful reduction in the environmental footprint of plastics can be achieved while maintaining performance and compatibility with existing recycling systems.

At a time when the plastics industry faces increasing pressure to reduce its dependence on fossil feedstocks, releaf® demonstrates how renewable carbon, high material performance and circularity can be combined in a practical and scalable solution.

Click here for the peer‑reviewed scientific article titled “Life Cycle Assessment of an Emerging, Innovative Biopolymer: Poly(ethylene furanoate)”