Spain-based Catalyxx, a company that transforms bioethanol into renewable chemicals, has chosen Sines, Portugal, as the site for Catalyxx Ibérica, its first commercial-scale plant. The €120-mn facility has been provided Project of National Interest status via the Portuguese Government.
The Sines site was selected for its industrial and logistics infrastructure, a deep-water port, robust connectivity, and access to renewable energy. The facility will manufactures butanol, hexanol and octanol from bioethanol, providing a low-carbon option to conventional petrochemical manufacturing routes while staying compatible with existing industrial applications.
The ‘Project of National Interest’ status affords the venture an expanded regulatory approval process, and the agency stated it has already secured key environmental approvals. Construction is expected to begin within the fourth quarter of 2026.
The plant constructs on Catalyxx’s demonstration facility in Seville, Spain, which the company has used to validate its catalytic procedure under constant operating conditions and produce operational data supporting industrial scale-up. Engineering work at the Sines venture is being performed with help from Worley and Quadrante, an international engineering, architecture, environment and sustainability consultancy.
The venture is backed by a integration of private investment and public funding, consisting a Euro 20-mn grant from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU). The Sines facility alone is anticipated to avoid about 105,000 tons of CO2 emissions yearly.
Mr. Joaquín Alarcón, Chief Executive Officer, Catalyxx, stated the Catalyxx Ibérica facility indicated the next step in the company’s venture to replace fossil-based chemicals with renewable options which are chemically identical, compatible with present industrial applications, and lower in carbon intensity.
