Catalyxx announces renewables chemicals plant in Portugal

Located in one of Europe's most important industrial and logistics hubs, the €120M Sines facility was selected for its industrial infrastructure, a deep-water port, excellent logistics connectivity, and access to renewable energy. These advantages will strengthen Catalyxx's position as a leading bio-based chemicals company while supporting the security of supply, decarbonisation, and competitiveness of the European chemical sector. The project will also reinforce Portugal's growing role as a leader in sustainable industrial innovation and advanced manufacturing.

The facility will produce butanol, hexanol, and octanol from bioethanol, offering the market a low-carbon alternative to conventional petrochemical production routes, while maintaining full compatibility with existing industrial applications and value chains.

The project has been granted Project of National Interest (PIN) status by the Portuguese government, recognising its strategic contribution to domestic industrial development, innovation, sustainability, and economic growth, and affording the project an accelerated regulatory approval process. In addition, the project has already secured its key environmental approvals, representing another major milestone and further reinforcing its readiness to move into the construction phase.

The Catalyxx Ibérica project represents the next stage in Catalyxx's industrial journey.

The company’s demonstration facility in Sevilla, Spain, has enabled Catalyxx to validate its proprietary catalytic process under continuous operating conditions, generate extensive operational data, and develop the expertise required to support industrial scale-up. The Sines plant builds directly on this foundation, and will serve as the launchpad for Catalyxx’s global expansion in low-carbon chemicals and fuels.

The project is advancing through its final development phase, with construction slated to begin by 4Q26. Engineering activities are being carried out with the support of Worley, a global company of energy, chemicals, and resources experts, and Quadrante, an international consultancy in engineering, architecture, environment, and sustainability, with both companies contributing to the project's execution and industrial readiness.

The development of Catalyxx Ibérica is supported by a combination of private investment and public funding. Among its recent milestones, Catalyxx was awarded €20 million in funding from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), reinforcing the strategic relevance of the project and its contribution to Europe's industrial decarbonisation and supply chain security objectives.

The project is expected to catalyse significant additional private and institutional investment into Portugal, creating a multiplier effect across the country's industrial ecosystem and sup-porting the development of new sustainable value chains. The Sines facility alone is expected to avoid approximately 105 000 tpy of CO₂ emissions.

"Our Catalyxx Ibérica facility represents the next step in Catalyxx's mission to replace fossil-based chemicals with renewable alternatives that are chemically identical, fully compatible with existing industrial applications and significantly lower in carbon intensity," said Joaquín Alarcón, CEO of Catalyxx. “We are thrilled to be building our first commercial-scale plant in Portugal, and we are particularly grateful to the Portuguese Trade and In-vestment Agency (AICEP - Global Parques ZILS), CCDR Alentejo, Câmara Municipal de Sines, Port of Sines and Algarve Authority (APS) and all the Portuguese authorities for their support and recognition of the project's strategic importance. This project will not only accelerate the defossilisation of the chemical industry, but also position Portugal as a European leader in sustainable industrial innovation.”

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/22072026/catalyxx-announces-reneables-chemicals-plant-in-portugal/