Butanol and its derivatives are key intermediates in the production of paints, coatings, adhesives and inks, an $85 billion global market. Butyl acrylates are also used in the $700 billion global plastics and polymers market. Butanol is also a superior biofuel and can directly replace gasoline as a fuel. It is a superior blend stock as well, and can be blended with diesel as well as other biofuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol and isobutanol. The blend stock opportunity for butanol exceeds $80 billion per year. Butanol also has the potential to be upgraded to aviation jet fuel, a $50 billion market driven by increasing global interest on reduction of carbon emissions.

Biofuels remains a strategic driver for GBL, with the company’s immediate market focus on butanol and C₄ chemicals.

The merged GBL will be a globally managed company focused on the production of C₄ chemicals and advanced fuels from renewable feedstocks, primarily from waste and by-product agricultural sources. GBL has a portfolio of proprietary and engineered Clostridia strains used as biocatalysts to process a wide range of starch, sugar and cellulosic feedstocks. In China, GBL has three projects underway on molasses and corn by-product feedstocks. In India and Brazil, GBL’s focus is molasses, cane and bagasse. In North America, the focus is on both starch-based and cellulosic feedstocks.

GBL was founded in 2003 by Dr. Edward Green, Chief Scientific Officer, to develop fermentation technology for the growing global biobutanol industry. GBL maintains offices and laboratories at its headquarters in Abingdon, UK. GBL’s North American office is in Columbus, Ohio where it maintains a pilot facility, laboratories and offices. It maintains executive offices in Richmond, Virginia. GBL has developed proprietary fermentation technology using solventogenic Clostridia for the production of biobutanol.