Vioneo drops Antwerp factory plans and opts for China

Vioneo, a subsidiary of Danish shipping group A.P. Möller-Maersk, has scrapped plans to build a €1.5 billion green plastics factory in the Port of Antwerp and will build the project in China instead.

The company confirmed the decision on Friday, after reports in Belgian business daily De Tijd. Vioneo said its main goal remains to produce fossil-free plastics, but building in China would make this more affordable and faster.

According to the company, China offers better access to green methanol, a key raw material. This would lower costs, reduce CO2‚ emissions and speed up the route to market. Vioneo said the China-based plant would emit less carbon overall than the planned Antwerp facility.

The Antwerp project was set to be Vioneo’s first large-scale factory, producing up to 300,000 tonnes of green plastics a year. It was expected to supply sectors such as healthcare and the car industry and was seen as a major boost for Antwerp’s green ambitions.

The factory was planned for the former Gunvor refinery site, now being redeveloped by Vopak as a green energy hub. Its cancellation is a setback for the port’s sustainability plans.

Vioneo stressed that it remains a European company and said it could still build factories in Europe at a later stage.

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