Why Better Plastic Doesn’t Win Easily: Bart Langius on PEF, Avantium, and Rebuilding Europe’s Materials Base

Bart Langius explains why replacing fossil-based plastics is not just a chemistry challenge, but an industrial one. At Avantium, he is helping bring PEF, a polyester made from plant sugars, from pilot scale into the market. The conversation looks at Europe’s weakening petrochemical position and the real hurdles facing new materials: cost, scale, customer risk, and recycling systems. It is a practical look at what it takes to build a new materials category.