(Yicai) May 11 -- Swiss green chemicals startup Vioneo decided to build the world’s first commercial-scale fossil-free plastics plant in China instead of Belgium because of the Asian country’s favorable policy environment and industrial advantages, according to its chief commercial officer.

Vioneo will finalize the exact location for the new factory in the coming months, Katja Wodjereck said in a recent interview with Yicai. Key considerations for its siting include the local industrial and supply chain ecosystem, sustainability compliance, energy infrastructure, and how well the site fits the regional market, she noted.

Zug-based Vioneo, set up in 2024 by AP Moller Holding, the parent firm of Danish shipping giant Maersk, had planned to build the fossil-free polyolefin plant with an annual output of 300,000 tons in the port of Antwerp at a cost of EUR1.5 billion (USD1.8 billion). That was switched to China in January.

The three main criteria were cost-effectiveness, project execution speed, and customer demand, and China satisfies all three, Wodjereck noted. China has the world’s most developed green methanol supply chain, which significantly cuts feedstock and logistics costs, and its engineering and construction sector can deliver the project more quickly, reducing capital expenditure and improving returns, she added.

Vioneo plans to build out its Asia-Pacific business around the Chinese plant, positioning itself closer to customers and expanding local hiring, Wodjereck said, adding that the firm also intends to work closely with Chinese engineering contractors and technology licensors.

Plant construction is scheduled to start next year, with plans to go live in 2030. The facility will use methanol-to-olefin technology from US industrial giant Honeywell, with no use of fossil feedstocks throughout the process. It will also be powered by renewable energy, which can reduce carbon emissions by about 1.5 million tons per year.

China aims to achieve peak carbon before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. This year's Government Work Report, released in March, proposed setting up a national low-carbon transformation fund and identified hydrogen and green fuels as new growth points.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev