DNP Green Technology and GreenField Ethanol Partner on Bio-based Succinic Acid De-icer Plant
29 March 2010
| Succinic acid production via E. coli fermentation. Source: Bioamber. Click to enlarge. |
DNP Green Technology and GreenField Ethanol (earlier post) will partner to build a $50 million bio-based succinic acid refinery that will produce a new generation of environmentally friendly de-icing solutions. This bio-renewable de-icer has a negative carbon footprint and is less corrosive than traditional de-icers.
The succinic acid technology will be licensed from Bioamber—a joint venture between DNP Green Technology and France-based Agro-recherches et Developpement (ARD) that is dedicated to succinic acid. Bioamber has the exclusive and worldwide rights to technologies developed by the US Department of Energy (DOE) that use E. coli mutants to produce succinic acid; the company’s goal is to make bio-based succinic acid competitive with maleic anhydride and therefore a viable platform molecule for four-carbon chemistry.
Under the terms of the Letter of Intent, DNP Green and GreenField will select a location to build the succinic acid refinery, secure government support and finalize commercial agreements. The partners plan to form a joint venture later this year and negotiate a license from Bioamber. GreenField will build and operate the refinery and DNP Green will hold a significant equity stake. The preferred location is GreenField’s shovel-ready site in Hensall, Ontario, Canada.
The joint venture will produce its next generation de-icer from grain-derived glucose. This bio-based de-icer dramatically reduces corrosion to roads, airport runways and aircraft carbon brakes than currently available de-icer solutions. This patent protected de-icer also meets FAA standards (AMS 1435) and has a negative carbon footprint. The joint venture plans to work with distributors in the various market segments, including Basic Solutions, a provider of innovative runway de-icing solutions.
We are pleased to announce our intentions with DNP Green Technology. Adding a bio-based deicer refinery to our operations is the start of the realization of the bio-refinery potential of GreenField’s extensive grain ethanol operations. Bio-refineries will be the 21st century, future-friendly equivalent of a traditional oil refinery. Succinic acid de-icers and fuel ethanol are just a few of the solutions bio-refineries will create to meet some of the greatest challenges our world faces.
—Bob Gallant President and CEO of GreenField Ethanol
DNP Green is actively developing other bio-based chemical platforms, leveraging industrial biotechnology and chemical synthesis to produce renewable chemicals and bio-based materials. The company has offices in Princeton, N.J., Shanghai, China and Montreal, Canada.
Resources
Bioamber Overview (March 2010)
Comments