Worldwide Joint Venture  
  In order to accelerate the development and commercialization of its technology, DNP entered into a worldwide joint venture with Agro Industrie Recherches et Developpements (ARD), a leading French R&D company that specializes in developing and scaling up fermentation and downstream purification processes. ARD is owned by a large French agricultural group consisting of Champaigne Cereale, Champtor and Crystal Union, a group with annual sales in excess of 3 billon euros. DNP selected ARD because it had pilot scale fermentation capacity and extensive experience in both process scale up and optimization. With large scale fermentation reactors at their disposal, ARD was an ideal partner for DNP to scale up its succinic acid technology to the pilot scale.  
  The joint venture with ARD, named BIOAMBER, has advanced the succinic acid production process and scaled it up to the 80,000 L scale. While other succinic acid fermentation technologies exist, none have been scaled up to 40,000 L or 80,000 L, giving DNP a significant technological lead over the competition. BIOAMBER is preparing further scale up of the technology by building a 2,000 metric ton industrial plant in Pomacle, France. This plant, which will be operational in late 2009, will be used to confirm the technical and commercial viability of bio-based succinic acid. In parallel, BIOAMBER is going to open up new markets for succinic acid production and develop a turn-key licensing package, which it will offer to chemical, starch and manufacturing companies for licensing beginning in 2011.  
  BIOAMBER is now making limited quantities of its bio-based succinic acid available to companies for testing and new product development. BIOAMBER plans to sell its bio-based succinic acid below the price of petroleum-based succinic acid currently available. More significant quantities will be available for sale when the 2,000 metric ton plant is commissioned in late 2009.  
  DNP, through its BIOAMBER JV with ARD, is also working on a number of new uses for succinic acid esters and derivative products, which it plans to make available to specialty chemical companies. These products have the potential to become environmentally safe, bio-based alternatives to harmful petrochemicals, at competitive prices:  
 
  • runway deicers and engine coolants for reducing toxic substances
  • solvents for replacing chlorinated and volatile solvents
  • heating fuel additives for reducing particulate emissions
  • specialty chemicals for biodegradable chelators and detergent builders
  • biobased polymers that can produce biodegradable plastics and films
  • personal care products such as non-toxic nail polish remover
  
Green Chemistry in the Press
Natural Health Division

SPECIALTY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE:
Au Naturel
October 2006

NEW SCIENTIST MAGAZINE
Biorefineries: Curing our
addiction to oil
July 2007

BIOMASS MAGAZINE:
The Quest to Commercialize
Biobased Succinic Acid
August 2007

CHEMICAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE
Biofeedstocks see real growth
October 2007

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