Genomatica is adopting Beta Renewables' Proesa technology for the production of butanediol (BDO), as part of the definitive agreement between the two companies.
Proesa is a second-generation technology which turns lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars, which will then be used to produce different chemicals. Genomatica will integrate its direct biological process with Proesa technology to create a complete, proprietary process for the second-generation manufacturing of BDO using non-food, cellulosic biomass as feedstock. BDO is an intermediate chemical that is used in products including athletic apparel, running shoes, electronics and automobiles.
As part of the previously announced collaboration agreement between Genomatica and Gruppo M&G, the majority owner of Beta Renewables, both companies are planning to produce BDO from biomass at demonstration-scale in 2012, at Beta Renewable's facility in Rivalta Scrivia, Italy.
Genomatica CEO Christophe Schilling said together they will provide more feedstock flexibility to the chemical industry and a solution to reduce the volatility of raw material inputs. "We are working to enable our chemical industry partners to produce sustainable chemicals from conventional sugars, cellulosic biomass or syngas - all while delivering improved profitability over petrochemical processes, the ability to deploy smaller-scale plants and a smaller environmental footprint," he added.
Genomatica said it is developing a pipeline of manufacturing processes for the production of the chemicals, and expects the first commercial-scale BDO plant that uses its processes to begin production in 2013.
Beta Renewables is a $350m joint venture (JV) formed from the Chemtex division of Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi and TPG.
