Glycos Biotechnologies Demonstrates Production of Biochemicals in Pilot Plant-Size Environment

9 March 2010

Glycos Biotechnologies, Inc., an emerging biochemical company pioneering metabolic engineering and microbiology innovations to produce sustainable biochemicals (earlier post), has successfully produced lactic acid and advanced ethanol in a commercial-size facility capable of producing up to 150,000 liters (approx. 40,000 gallons US) of chemicals. GlycosBio says that this milestone represents a major step forward towards the commercialization of its technology.

GlycosBio has created a platform that can consume carbon from multiple non-sugar feedstock sources to produce a variety of chemical products. This approach not only eliminates the risk of a sugar-only based feedstock strategy but also provides product flexibility and a larger addressable market opportunity for producers. In addition, GlycosBio’s technology platform has been shown to be cost competitive with the petrochemical industry, while maintaining 45-55% gross margins from plant operations.

By using our proprietary microbes and bioprocess technologies as an alternative to conventional petrochemical-based manufacturing processes, GlycosBio has invented a sustainable and cost-efficient approach to the production of next generation bio-products. Through the creation of biologically balanced pathways inside the microbe we have been able to uniquely develop microorganisms that naturally produce the desired end-products.

—Paul Campbell, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for Glycos Biotechnologies

GlycosBio uses only microorganisms that are non-pathogenic and have been used for years to make drugs, chemicals, and enzymes for food products and detergents. GlycosBio is focused on the production of specialty chemicals that can be used as building blocks for a wide range of applications including biodegradable and non-degradable plastics. In addition, other applications for GlycosBio’s chemicals include surfactants and fuels such as advanced ethanol.